Cafe Oh lala
by Closet-Narutard
Summary: A regular schoolgirl and a full-time worker from a coffee shop are introduced by a lost necklace and a cup of tea. AU, SasuSaku.
1. Chapter 1

Sasuke rushed down the street that was starting to get touched by the morning light. His feet pounded faster against the ground; he didn't need to be late for work again.

He could feel the air rushing by him, but it wasn't nearly cold enough to cool off all the heat he was emanating. He loved this feeling. Both hot and cold, tired yet excited. He honestly didn't give a shit if he was late at this point. He flew around the nearby corner. Another day, another route to work.

He sped toward the fence ahead of him and cleared it. When he landed, it was on lush, green grass. There came a growl to his right as a large mass charged at him. Sasuke whipped his body to the side and watched the dog miss him by an inch. He twirled the rest of his body around and darted to the fence, listening for the footfalls and growls that weren't far behind. He pushed off the ground and clambered up the fence, feeling the snap of jaws that barely missed his foot. He rounded over the top of the fence and plopped down of the other side. He didn't stay long enough to taunt the dog further, he didn't have time. He could hear the dog making a raucous about the trespasser that had just escaped, knowing that his owners would soon get up and yell for him to shut up. Too foolish to know that the dog was doing his duty. It disgusted him how easily people took things for granted.

He squeezed through the two buildings at the end of the alley, and was surprised to see the mall as he climbed out. 'Looks like I'm not late.' Amused at the thought, he jogged up the hill to the highway. It was surprisingly quiet for the time of day. He jolted across anyway, knowing it wouldn't remain so for long. He jogged the rest of the way to the mall, there was more of a breeze now, and he took in all he could before being forced into the recycled air for 10 hours.

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Kaiser was barking. Sakura groaned and roll over to glance at the clock: 6:52am, the red lines buzzed at her. She felt her body try to restrain her to the bed as she forced herself up. She heaved a sigh, and thought of the other people nearby that were no doubt glaring her way. She rotated her body and pivoted her legs out from under the covers. Her feet found the cold floor, and she slowly pressed her weight into them. She eased herself up and rubbed her face before sauntering to the back door. She glanced at her parent's bedroom door on the way, knowing very well that they weren't there.

She slid the glass door open after unlocking it. "Kaiser…" She saw him scratching at the fence, barking in frustration. 'That's different.' She strolled over to him.

"Kaiser. What are you doing?" He plopped down and hid his ears, eyes asking for an apology. "It's okay, I forgive you for waking me." She reached out and stroked his face, being sure to find his ears and scritch behind them. He instantly perked up and tried to lick her.

"No. no, I'm too tired for kisses." She gave him a final pet before turning, but was drawn back by the sudden whimper. She looked down at Kaiser to see him investigating something on the ground by the fence. She bent over to grab it as Kaiser retreated.

She plucked it from the ground and brushed the dirt off. "How weird… Is this a necklace?" It was an odd shape that she couldn't derive any meaning from, but she thought it looked similar to a fan. The part that fanned out was red, whilst the handle was white. She gathered the attached chain in her hand, and headed back to her house with Kaiser at her heels.


	2. Chapter 2 - The Necklace

Sakura held the ends of the necklace before her reflection. The metal was still cold from being on the ground. She noted that the symbol would look good with her pink hair strung about both sides.

She pulled the ends behind her neck and felt the cold touch her skin. She clasped the hook and the necklace fell into position. She deduced that this necklace belonged to a male because the long chain lead the symbol to her cleavage, and if she had more build on her shoulders or neck then it would wear quite well. 'That's no good... If I wear it like this I'll have trouble telling the owner apart from the perverts.'

She stepped from her room to find a solution. The foreign weight making her feel as though she was more grounded. It was heavier than any necklace she had worn before. The chain was also thicker, and the shine declared the promise of true silver. Her mother's obsession with personal adornment seemed to have more use than she initially thought. Being forced to try on different metals and precious jewels to match her skin or accent her eyes finally had a purpose.

She traveled down the hall to the closed door that she had been restricted while the regular occupants were on vacation. It creaked at her disobedience. She tiptoed across the untouched room to her mother's knickknack workstation. She rifled through the desk drawer for something of use. Her hand emerged victorious with a safety-pin. She slid the end through a link further down the chain and hooked it from there instead. She ascertained the new adjustment in her mom's mirror and smiled.

There was someone more confident staring back at her. Her reflection demanded respect and attention. She felt like she needed to wear something special to uphold the appearance. Her feet guided her from the room and into the hallway. She made sure to carefully latch the door so she could pretend that she wasn't in there in the first place. She sped down the hallway and into her room, then directly to her closet. She immediately searched for the outfit that she had bought with Ino a couple months back, but never felt that she could really pull off. Until now, that is. She would go peruse the mall and see if the owner recognized the necklace, knowing it was a slim chance in such a big city. So she decided that if she didn't find the owner today, she would apply the "Finders Keepers" clause she was entitled to.

***

Sakura wandered around the mall, trying to establish if anyone recognized the item hanging from her neck, but so far no takers. There were plenty of eyes that turned after her, but none that were looking at her neck. She felt uncomfortable from all the attention, but empowered all the same.

"Excuse me, miss." Sakura turned to see who was talking to her and saw a boy she thought she recognized from school. He had black hair and eyes and extremely pale skin. Could the necklace be his? "Can I help you?"

"Yes. We are in the same art class and I would like you to model for me." A calm smile came over his face.

"Oh, no thanks. That's more Ino's thing..." Ino was her beautiful friend that she'd known since gradeschool. She always had all the boys fighting for her attention. Sakura moved a hand to her necklace and started to fiddle with the symbol attached.

"I need something original. Just think about it." Sai then concluded the conversation with another smile before walking away.

'He's a weird one...' She continued down the hallway and felt a dryness growing at the back of her throat.

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"Excuse me, young man..." Sasuke's attention was directed to the elderly woman who had spoken. "This coffee is like lava! I drink it black, you see. Could I get some cold water, maybe? Or some ice cubes? Just to cool it down, ya know." Sasuke grasped the cup and retrieved it from the rickety hands. The last thing he needed today was to spill coffee on some hag. He grabbed the hose that stemmed out from the pop tower and aimed the end at the cup, then hit the button for the cold water. "There." He set it with finality on the counter, and vaguely heard a 'bless your heart' as he turned back to the register.

"Can I get a shot?" Continued the next man in line. Sasuke displayed his palm expectantly, "three fifty-four."

"Three fifty-four? You've gotta be kidding me, it's just a shot!" His face expanded as he talked. So many people came everyday thinking that if they protested the prices then they would have to pay less.

"Yes, just like on the menu." He pointed up to demonstrate the fact. "I suggest you read it next time." The man glanced up at the menu, then shot a glare onto the barista before whipping around and charging out of the store.

"He was a real piece of work, eh?" The next customer looked on him with features that were itching to speak of the recent tragedy. She was blonde and had her hair pulled into four small tails.

"What can I get you?" Sasuke interjected.

The humour in her face fell. "You're a piece of work yourself. Get me a latte." She paid and sat on one of the barstools to the side. Sasuke made the espresso shot and steemed the milk as her dark eyes watched. He was quite attractive. He strained the milk with a spoon onto the espresso, then topped it with foam. He placed the cup in front of her. She opened her mouth to say something, but he was already gone.

There was no one else in line, and Sasuke took this opportunity to do some cleaning. He grabbed the bottle of sanitizing solution and went to the closest table. He squeezed the trigger and the liquid shot onto the surface. The chemical aroma beginning to mingle with those of coffee and pie. He took the cloth from the pocket on his apron and began to wipe the table, when he was interrupted by a new customer.

A girl entered the store. She wore black boots below her blue skirt. Her white top was overlapped by a red jacket that was designed to be cut short at the small of the back and the elbows. Pink hair fell past her shoulders and framed a necklace. A necklace he recognized. "Where did you get that?!" He pointed to the familiar item that was strung about the foreign neck.


	3. Chapter 3 - The Tea

Chapter 3

Sakura walked to the nearby coffee shop that was disguised as a bar. A dull scratch at the back of her throat had brought her here. "Cafe Oh LaLa" the sign up top declared, with tiny letters that added "Coffee Shop" underneath. She walked through the entryway and noticed the thick wooden doors that were stuck open to allow passage.

There was a guy with black hair dutifully wiping the table near the entrance. He was wearing a dark top that showed navy blue when the light hit it. There was a black apron strapped around his waist that ended at his thighs, and his long legs were displayed by black pants. When he stood at his full height, he was easily a couple inches taller than she was.

When she approached him his eyes scaled up and were caught at her neck. His hand reached for something at his chest but returned empty. "Where did you get that?!" The shock on his face betraying his voice, showing that he was more relieved than angry.

"Well.. I found it. Does it belong to you?" Her face was growing hot under his gaze. He simply nodded and held out his hand. She looked at his palm, hesitating. His dark eyes made her feel like she was the only thing that mattered in the room, although she knew it was the necklace's doing. "I don't want to give it to just anybody… Can you prove it's yours?"

His reply was a scoff, but his brow pulled together and his mouth was akin to a pout. His actions declared he was eager to get the necklace back into his possession, but in today's day and age you couldn't rip it from someone's neck without someone yelling 'thief'. In the silence her fingers found the symbol dangling from the chain.

"Do you know what that symbol means?" She jumped at his voice and looked down into her hands. "I-It looks like a fan to me." Inwardly cursing herself for stuttering, she slowly returned her sights to his eyes. She watched them narrow at her. 'Is he mad at me? Did I get it wrong?'

When he spoke it was a single word. "Uchiha." His face loosened as he said it, like the tense in his body was now in the air. She stared with a blank expression. 'What the hell is "Uchiha"?' She heard herself think. Then it came together as she looked at him, the word matched him perfectly. She reached behind her neck and grabbed the clasp she had fashioned. She unhooked the safety-pin and placed the necklace in the hand that rose to get it.

He held his necklace, reminded of the weight and the way the links reacted to one another. It was still warm from the girl's body heat…

"_Sasuke, do you know what this symbol means?" His older brother had come out to sit on the front deck with him, and was holding up the red and white charm that hung from his necklace. _

_Sasuke knew he recognized it, and looked on it with a bottom lip that had been shoved out and a furrowed brow. "It's the same as the symbol above the fireplace."_

"_That's right, little brother." Sasuke watched his brother's mouth form a small smile. "But do you know what it means?"_

_Sasuke opened his mouth and said—_

"Oh! It's a family crest!" His eyes jolted up at the girl. She was definitely smarter than she looked. "So you're an Uchiha, then?" Her green eyes were large and shining, like she had just solved a puzzle. He shifted in place. It was always a nuisance when people shoved their noses into his business. It was unlikely that he'd even see this girl again.

"I'm Sakura!" The girl with pink hair stated, a little too loudly for that matter. She seemed to notice this as her eyebrows twisted upward to match her awkward smile. He looked down at the hand she had stretched in front of him. A snicker grew inside and he stifled it as an inward scoff. 'That's interesting…' The obsidian eyes returned their gaze on the girl.

It was her turn to shift. The outstretched hand returned empty, and her other hand grabbed it to rub away the disappointment. Pink rose on the cheeks underneath the bright green eyes. She looked down and started to turn away.

"So you dyed your hair the colour of cherry blossoms because you're named after them. If that's even your real name." He looked at her, waiting for an explanation.

Her eyes widened as she turned back, then she grew confidence from an unknown source. "You're wrong!" Her eyes blazed under her angry brow, although there was a grin growing on her lips. Sasuke simply replied by placing a hand on his hip.

"Firstly, my real name is in fact Sakura." The hand she had reached to him before now pointed upward. "Secondly!" Her middle finger shot up before she continued. "I have NEVER dyed my hair!" She pushed the peace sign toward him.

There was a lifting in his chest that rose to his face, but he realized too late that it was a smile. "Heh." He turned away to get back to work.

"Wait!" He stopped. His head peeked over his shoulder at the curious girl. "You should thank me." He stared at her, then looked away to ponder. He had lost his necklace, and she had somehow brought it back to him before he had even realized it was missing. "You're right. How 'bout a drink?"

Her face grew bright red instantly. "Oh, yeah, sure!" She obviously misunderstood. "Not like that, I'll give you a drink as thanks."

"Oh…" She looked down, but smiled. When she returned her view at him she beamed.

Was it hot in here? He felt very warm. When he looked at the surrounding patrons they all seemed comfortable, so he returned to the register. It was only when the blonde girl from earlier snickered at him that he realized he must be blushing. He narrowed his eyes at the customer.

"So…" He looked away from the blonde when Sakura spoke at the other side of the register. "I can get anything?"

"Yes, anything. But hurry it up, I have other customers too." His eyes were still narrowed, and he heard the blonde let out a laugh. His bottom lip started to jut out.

"Alright. I'll have a green tea with honey, please." Her face was beginning to change to its regular colour.

"Green tea? You could have anything on the menu!" He felt rushed, even though there wasn't really anyone he needed to serve immediately.

"I know, I just don't want anything else on the menu…" Her eyebrows furrowed slightly. He opened up his eyes at her. "It's what I came here for, after-all."

He looked at her for a second, expecting something more. Her eyes only reflected innocence back at him. He reverted back to his work self and made the green tea. He handed her the cup and grabbed the honey bottle from beneath the counter. She took it from him and opened it. She measured the amount of honey with her eyes as she tipped it out of the bottle. It melted as it hit the tea, and the stream from the container became thinner as she tipped it back. She closed the cover and handed it back to him. He returned it to its place under the counter-top. She showed a gentle smile, and gave thanks, before moving to the table he just cleaned.

He whipped around and scampered to the back where the kitchen was. "Kabuto, I'm going on break!" He called to the cook, who was baking pies judging from the warm aroma. Sasuke swiped up his stuff and took off out the back entrance before caring to check if Kabuto had heard him.

**Author's Note: The interaction between Sakura and Sasuke in this scene was very difficult for me. I really am trying to remain true to the original characters, so... Feel free to let me know if I did a good job! Or a less then satisfactory job, too, haha! Or just read my chapters for fun, I'm cool with that too. ^^**


	4. Chapter 4 - Heart And Home

Sasuke's shift was over and he untied his apron. Now that his time was his own, his thoughts began to wander to the cherry blossom who had returned his necklace. When he had returned from his break she was gone. So was the blonde, but she was boring. Cut from the same cloth as all the other girl's that tried to catch his eye.

He lifted the strap of his bag over his head and dropped its weight onto his shoulder. He exited from the kitchen door and walked through the parking lot toward the highway. His hand wrapped around the symbol of his kin.

A car would whiz by every few seconds. He bided his time along the side until there was a break in the line. He gripped the thick fabric of his bag, then pushed off his toes and darted to the patch of green between roads. How did pinky get to the mall? Probably not in such a reckless way. Chances are she borrowed her parents' car and cruised up like a little princess. Better yet, she might have her own car.

"Shit." A party of cars rushed by and Sasuke realized he had missed the pause in traffic. His feet scuffed through the dry grass that was frayed at the edges. The only time it was cared for was when it was cut. When the next pause hit he rushed across the leftover road. Air rushed through his lungs as he jogged the remaining distance home.

He twisted the key and there was a clunk as the lock slid over. The door opened and revealed the innards of his apartment. The first thing seen was the television in the living-room, then there was a kitchen to the left of the entryway. The wall that joined the kitchen to the living-room had a gap in it that acted as a window. To the right there was the bathroom, and further on was his roommate's chamber.

He bent down and pulled his laces free, then grabbed his shoes and slid his feet out. He heaved a sigh, then stepped passed the conjoined wall and the couch to get to his room. He grasped the cold knob and twisted. He pushed open the door, grabbed the strap off his shoulder, and tossed his bag inside. In one fluid motion he closed the door and spun onto the couch. It wasn't the most comfortable thing, but it did the job. It had a dusty smell that poofed out into the room when someone sat on it.

He picked up the remote and aimed it at the TV, but heard movement from his roommate's room. 'That's odd. He's not usually home at this time...' He watched the door and tried to figure out the happenings inside until eventually Shisui emerged.

"Oh. Sasuke. I didn't realize you were home." He sniffed and rubbed his nose. Uh, while I have you here, I'm going to need some more cash for rent. They went and raised it on me."

Sasuke shifted his weight forward. "How much did they raise it?" This was strange. He had already paid all of the regular expenses, and usually more notice was required when the price of rent was changed.

"One-hundred. They've been trying to kick me out of this place since I moved in here with your brother!" Shisui produced a laugh that quickly became empty, and he turned his head downward.

'Looking back on the good times when Itachi was still alive, no doubt...' Sasuke mused. 'Times when he didn't have to bum money off his best friend's younger brother.'

"Okay." Sasuke pushed on his knees and stood. He swerved around the arm of the couch and grasped the door handle, then opened it and grabbed his bag off the floor. He flipped the flap over and dug for his wallet. Shisui watched in silence.

He grasped his wallet and turned back to face him. "So you need fifty, right?" The reply was a dull nod. He pulled out the money inside and reached the cash out to his brother's old friend.

"Thanks." Shisui pulled the money from Sasuke's hand. He held it with a sad look in his eye, then turned toward the door. "I'll see you later."

After the door clicked shut it was silent, except for the noise of Shisui's steps on the other side. Sasuke looked in his wallet and saw forty dollars remaining. He dropped it into the bag and flipped the flap back over. Carelessly tossing it aside as he plopped into the couch. He coughed at the dust, then flicked the TV on.

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She picked up her pace and the steps behind her followed. The stores glimpsed her reflection in the dark windows as she quickly passed them. The only illumination came from the street lights above. She heard a second pair of feet behind her and started to run, not daring to look back. Her feet kicked off the heels that inhibited her movement, and she took off down the empty street. As the feet thudded behind her, her eyes darted around for an escape. Or a rescuer. When a hand grasped her shoulder and pulled her down she screamed. The hooded figure pulled at her hair; the second man ripped at her dress. She shrieked out for help, and a punch came across her cheek equipped with a "Shut up!"

Tears exploded from her eyes as she cried out, "Someone, anyone, PLEASE!" Her resistance was met with pulls and hits. She shut her eyes firmly and sobbed.

And then suddenly everything stopped.

She heard thuds and grunts as feet scuffled around her. When she opened her eyes, both of her assailants were running away. She looked up at her savior, and recognized him as the gentleman from the ball whom she had rejected earlier. He grasped her gently and helped raise her to her feet.

"So, how about that coffee now?" Was the gentleman's response. She nodded and grasped his arm.

The microwave beeped and Sakura stretched her feet from under her and placed them on the floor, surprised at how cold it was. Kaiser sat beside his master, his dark brown eyes were trained on her. She rose and started toward the kitchen, but the dog remained in place.

She pressed the button and the microwave door popped open. She reached in and grabbed the edge of the inflated bag. The heat threatened to burn her fingertips, and she quickly swooshed it to the nearby bowl. She pulled the ends and it burst open with heat and she released it.

"You look stunning." She heard the romantic interest on the television tell the leading lady. Sakura glanced at the screen and saw that the woman was still in shambles.

"Kaiser..." The pointed ears perked at her. "Do you think I'll ever have a steamy romance like that?" He looked at the telly, then back at Sakura. "Ruff." She giggled and dumped the popcorn into the bowl. After adding salt, she returned to her seat on the couch. Just in time to see the two characters share a kiss.

She thought back to the boy with the pale face framed by black locks, and the onyx eyes that lit up in an amazing way when he smiled. And it was amazing just for her.

He saw all of her, not just her brain or her body. Honestly she wasn't sure if she could do the same, the way he squirmed and flustered was so adorable! She wanted to know more about this mysterious barista of "Cafe Oh Lala".

His top level was very brash, so his inner layer must be a sweetheart! That was how it worked, right? Boys only showed their caring and gentle side to the woman they loved. What would it take for her to be the one he loved? But... What of that blonde girl? She had some sort of connection, Sakura was sure of it.

'I have to see him tomorrow!' She sprung up and sped down the hall toward her room. 'What will I wear?' She spent the next hour tearing through all of her clothes, declaring them too "plain", "boring", or "colourless".

She looked at the outfit spread out on her bed. "Perfect!" There was a white blouse that was to be worn over a long red t-shirt. The t-shirt had a white lining across the edges of it and a circle on the back. The circle was supposed to represent a ring from her mother's company, so she covered it up with the blouse. The end of the shirt swayed and gave the illusion of a skirt. She chose black pants to wear underneath it.

She turned from the outfit and looked around her room. You couldn't see the floor from all the clothes she had tossed on it. The closet was empty and a couple of bare drawers from the dressers stretched out at her. She let loose a sigh and began to tidy up.


	5. Chapter 5 - Gimme A Break

He saw her waltz in, emerald eyes shining and a lively smile pressed in her face. "Medium green tea!" He made it up for her and collected her money. She stood at the counter holding her tea, so he passed her the honey. She poured it in and handed it back when she finished with it. He returned it to its place then waited for her to leave. She stayed, staring at him with that same smile. When she didn't move he cleared his throat.

"Oh! I'll just... Go sit down." She went to the nearest table and then sat, watching him. Hopefully she didn't start to stalk him, too. She seemed the type.

"Sasuke! Break-time!" The voice called from behind the counter, and Sasuke recognized it as his co-worker Kabuto. He clued in and whipped around. "Wait, NOW?"

"Yup. You've only got fifteen minutes, better hurry." Kabuto put his apron on. He adjusted the glasses on his face as he stared at Sasuke with a look of subdued distaste.

Sasuke left her sight and grabbed his stuff from the kitchen. He could easily take the back entrance and ignore her, but he was no coward. Besides, if he avoided her she'd never leave. He made his way through the store and passed the table she was sitting at; not surprised that she started following him.

He moved toward the food court. He woke up late today and didn't have time for breakfast; his empty stomach was pulling at him.

"So... Do you work everyday?" She had inched her way up beside him, which was impressive because he was walking pretty fast. He looked at her; she had a broad smile on her face and a pink sat on her cheeks. He didn't respond and looked away. The last thing he needed was this girl knowing his work schedule. Her smile didn't fade, and her eyes didn't turn away.

He approached the counter to the burger joint. "Combo 2." The clerk obeyed and rung it through.

Sakura pushed herself beside him. He tried to move her away with his elbow. "A cheeseburger and fries?" She asked. He dipped his hand in his bag and brought out his wallet.

"I thought you'd be getting something less normal..." He raised an eyebrow at her. "Ah! I didn't mean it like you're not normal, or anything!" She waved her hands to try and erase any offense she might've caused.

Sasuke smirked. "You're a fool." He opened his wallet to get-nothing? He scrambled through the folds in his wallet. Not here. He pulled his bag before him and dug his hand through it. Also no. He turned and sped off into the mall. There was no way it was taken from work, neither Kabuto nor Orochimaru needed thirty dollars. He carried his bag with him, so it wasn't a stranger who robbed him; a pickpocket was out of the question because his wallet would be gone aswell. Shisui. He was short on money this month, there's the motive. But when could he... Last night. Sasuke had left his bag on the couch.

He heard Pinky call out to him, but couldn't care less about her right now. He needed to call Shisui. He found a payphone and picked up the receiver, then dug in his bag and found a quarter at the bottom. He dropped it in and his finger pressed into the buttons harder than necessary.

It started ringing, then was cut off by: "We're sorry, the number you have dialed-" He slammed the receiver back in place. "Damnit!" He'd have to go to Shisui's job after work and find him there.

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Sakura watched as the Uchiha rifled through his things. 'Did he forget his money?' Then he just darted off! The clerk turned to her.

"Oh... Uh, sorry about that!" She passed him a ten; the money she had been planning to use for a cab. "Just keep the change, okay?" She bundled up the paper bag and the two drinks and followed after the reason she came to the mall.

"Hey!" Sakura had caught up to him at the payphone. It was harder than it looked to hold everything as she jogged. He turned to her. "You forgot your lunch!"

His eyes widened as he stared, they turned down to the food cradled in her arms. "You didn't have to do that, Pinky."

"Sure I did! You have to eat!" Sakura smiled, it was like there was a sun in her chest filling her with light from her good deed.

Sasuke scoffed at her. "What do you care if I eat? You don't even know me."

Her sun was blown out; the good deed was now a burden. "You're right..." His words stung, and he watched her crumble inside. "But I'd like to..." She lifted her head and forced the corners of her mouth upward. He could probably see right through her.

It was silent now, and she'd give anything to know what he was thinking. She supposed it was probably along the lines of: 'Dumb girl that's obsessed with me'.

She dared looking into his eyes. His face was sullen, but his eyes were calculating. Analyzing every bit of her, from the fake smile to her untouched tea. She was trying, maybe too hard. Did she look desperate to him?

He shrugged and closed his eyes. "Let's go find a table." Suddenly the sun was back on, gleaming in all its former glory; she couldn't restrain her smile. He led the way; she gladly followed and wiped up secret tears.

They returned to the food court and sat down. Sakura pulled the burger and fries out of the bag and placed them on the table in front of Mr. Uchiha. He looked strange. His eyes were turned down at the food like it was an enemy, but you could tell that he couldn't wait to stuff his face by his open hands.

Thin fingers invaded his fries, and he looked at her. She momentarily paused, then brought a fry to her mouth and chomped it. After this he unwrapped his burger and took a large bite. He had wonderfully aligned teeth... Sakura's tongue poked around at hers to see if they were remotely similar. They weren't too bad.

When she returned her attention to him, there was barely any burger left. She giggled into her hand and he furrowed his brow at her in return. He continued to devour, and the food was gone in mere minutes.

He stood from his seat and adjusted his bag. She stood and walked to his side. It was true that she knew nothing about him, but nevertheless, she enjoyed being in his company. She started walking back toward his work with him.

No words were spoken on the way, but Sakura was still happy. They reached the entrance and Sakura realized something crucial. "Wait, before you go..." He turned away from the doors to face her. "What's your name? Your first one." She had meant to look at his name-tag, but he didn't wear one.

Her eyes looked up to him, and he turned slightly toward the doors. For a terrifying moment she thought he might just walked away, but then he uttered "It's Sasuke."

He glimpsed at her to check she had heard him before returning to work.

**Author's Note:**

**Day off today, so here's an extra chapter! :D**


	6. Chapter 6 - The Red Letters

**Author's Note: So, last Chapter I stated the missing amount as thirty dollars. I forgot I had changed it to forty, sorry for any confusion! D:**

* * *

"Sasuke... Sasuke," she spoke under her breath. The s's tickled her tongue and she couldn't help but giggle. She had grown a little closer to him, maybe this love business wasn't so hard? 'Maybe it's true love!'

"Sakura!" Ino called and waved to her up ahead. She was standing with her other friends and smiling.

"Ino!" Sakura jogged up to her, "how's your break been so far?" Sakura assumed it must be going well, she hadn't heard from her since they haven't been at school.

"Fantastic! How about you? You've got the house all to yourself, right?" Ino knew what it was like to be home alone, her father was a very busy man and her mother died when she was young.

"It's great! I get to stay up as late as I want to, and I can eat _what_ I want, _when_I want!" Sakura basked in her bluff. That stuff was great and all, but she was beginning to get tired of being alone all the time. The house was so empty; except for Kaiser, of course. Her australian cattle dog.

"That's awesome!" Although Ino's expression didn't change. "Listen! We should go get our nails done! Mine are starting to wear down since the last time I went." Ino's father, Inoichi, gave her a good allowance. Sakura had always assumed it was because he wanted to spoil her, but now she realized it was so Ino could buy things to do while he wasn't home.

"Okay. I have something to tell you, anyway." Sakura smiled. She really wanted to burst all her feelings about her crush right now, but knew better than to expose such vital information to Ino's company.

"Four o'clock at the downtown salon sound good?" Ino's friends had formed their own group to the side, clearly excluded from this conversation. They were whispering to eachother and taking turns examining Sakura.

Her smile dwindled. "Uh, yeah! Sounds great." They bid their farewells and continued on. As Sakura walked away she could hear the girls giggling.

* * *

Sakura had to return home to get more money from the amount her parents had sent her. She had to walk, but she didn't mind because she didn't have far to go. The sun gleamed in the sky and warmed her as a gentle wind blew by. The people she passed were in the middle of their diurnal activities, and she watched them bustle. Some tanned peacefully, others worked on their cars. There were even a few people carrying ladders to some unknown place.

She walked up the stretch to her home. Upon opening the door Kaiser burst outside. "Kaiser! No!" He pranced around the lawn with what appeared to be a smile as he panted. She admitted defeat and grabbed the leash from inside. When she returned he was scratching his back on the grass. She hooked on the leash and gave his grey belly a couple pats.

"Let's go for a walk." Kaiser's black ears perked up at her. "Yes, I said a walk!" He flung himself up and jumped circles around her.

It wasn't much of a walk, she ended up running most of the time to keep up with him. At one point he had chased a cat up a tree and Sakura was urged by the old lady who owned it to climb up and fetch it. Apparently she made a pretty good scratching post.

* * *

"Oh my gosh, Sakura! What happened?" Ino had turned in her seat and was now gaping.

"Kaiser chased a cat up a tree, but it's not as bad as it looks!" Ino's ponytail swayed when she shook her head. Sakura sat next to her, and the cosmetologist continued filing away at Ino's fingertips.

"What did you want to talk about?" Her tone was nonchalant and she turned back to watch the lady work away.

"I have a new crush!" Sakura squealed. Ino looked over, signalling her to continue. "His name is Sasuke! He works at-" Ino jumped forward, "Sasuke UCHIHA?" Sakura's jaw dropped. Her special secret apparently wasn't a secret at all. "Yeah... How'd you know?"

"He's only the hottest drop-out EVER! Of course I'd know about him!" Ino glowed with her knowledge. "He used to be in my class."

"Drop... Out?" All the moisture in her mouth was drained by the two words and she frowned. 'There's no way...' A hand reached out and grabbed Sakura's, and for a foolish second she thought it might've been Sasuke reaching out to comfort her, but it was just the woman assigned to her hands.

As their nails were decorated (Ino's more elaborately), Sakura was told of how Sasuke was normally a straight A student, but hadn't gone to school a single day this year. At Sakura's silence, Ino changed the topic to herself and the boys _she _was interested in.

Sakura simply nodded the conversation along. She was more distracted by the chemical odor of the nail polish than Ino's voice. Why would he drop out? Even more importantly, would it be right of her to ask him why? She was tempted to speed back up to the mall and interrogate him.

"Hey, you listening to me?" Ino gave an inquisitive look to Sakura.

"Oh, yes, you were saying something about..." Sakura racked her brain. The last guy she had talked her with was: "Shikamaru, right?"

"Okay, good. You looked totally zoned out." Ino, confident that Sakura was listening, continued expressing how Shikamaru must like her because he keeps avoiding her.

At long last, their nails were completed and Sakura walked toward the bus stop. Ino offered to drive her, but she was starting to get a headache from hearing her voice; which was strange considering that she was usually on the edge of her seat for Ino's stories.

It was perfect timing, the bus pulled along smoothly right after she arrived at the stop. She stepped on and dropped her change in the slot. When she passed the courtesy seating she almost fell over as the bus resumed driving. She stumbled to a nearby pole and used it to reach her seat. As she sat down her eyes came across a dark figure at the back of the bus she thought she recognized.

'I must be hallucinating: First thinking the manicurist was Sasuke, and now thinking that the guy at the back is Sasuke. Unless...' She shot her head back around to see, and long behold, it was actually him! He was barely visible behind all the seats as he stared out the window. She contemplated going to sit next to him, but there was an air of warding about him so she stayed put.

When he shifted his weight forward Sakura ducked down into the seat beside her, suddenly realizing that he might think she was stalking him if he saw her here. She held her hands on her head to try and cover up her highlighter hair.

For a couple of excruciatingly uncomfortable minutes, the bus drove on. She wondered if he knew she was there, if so, she would be making an even greater fool of herself. 'If he knew, I'd probably be able to hear him laughing,' she joshed herself.

She heard a cord pulled at the back. 'Is that his?' She listened for his movement as the bus pulled to the side. It was silent, so she dared herself to peek. When she lifted her head to see if he was still in place, she saw him a mere few inched before her and dove back down. She held her place, waiting for him to walk around the seat and ask what she was doing. Instead, the second set of doors opened and she heard him step off.

She shot herself up as the bus doors closed. She watched him through the glass as long as she could before the bus pulled out of view.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Sasuke got enough tips from work to bus over to the power plant, but when he asked about Shisui, they had told him that he missed his shift today. So, Sasuke caught the next bus home.

He sat in the back and propped his elbows on his knees, with his hands clasped together at his mouth. What was Shisui's plan? Sasuke had already given him extra money so why did forty bucks matter enough for him to steal it? The next piece was how he shirked work. He must be planning on skipping out of town, but did he already leave? 'I'll get a newspaper to look for a cheaper place, and ask Orochimaru for more hours...' Hopefully Shisui would be home so he could find out for sure.

He reached a hand over and pulled the cord to signal for his stop. The air on the bus was dense and dirty; even more recycled than that of the mall's. Sasuke found himself reminiscent of the fresh breeze he was usually exposed to on his way home.

He rose from his seat when the bus leaned to a stop, and as he made his way up to the door he thought he might have seen a flash of pink. He looked for a second, then shrugged it off and stepped out of the stagnant air onto the sidewalk.

It appeared as if someone was moving in, they had all their stuff piled outside. Sasuke's eyes scanned the mess as he drew closer, but then he realized that he _recognized every item_. His stomach jumped into his throat as if it was trying to force out all the questions that were racing through his mind; he swallowed it down and ran to his door.

He had hoped to talk to someone, but there was no-one. They had finished moving everything outside, and Sasuke could see the multiple trips they had to make from the dirt that was dragged and scuffed around. He noticed the shiny new lock that was in place, too. A pressure grew behind his brow and he clenched his fists. When he read the paper that was left on the door for him, the pressure started to burn. "EVICTED" the red headline declared. Smaller print below explained the cause as "nonpayment of rent". 'Not paying rent! Then what the _fuck _was my money going to?!'

He slammed the side of his fist onto the door. Then leaned his body into it as if he would phase through and have a place to stay for the night, but the door remained solid. He had thought he could trust Shisui, he had been Itachi's best friend. 'But not mine... I'm just some kid who was forced on him.'

His body tensed and his fist re-acquainted itself with the door. 'This would never have happened if my stupid asshole brother didn't die! So many people survived being struck by cars, but it had to be _Itachi _who died...' Everything became silent. His eyes started to sting and he could feel them reddening. He could see Itachi on the pavement as the paramedics called the time, the blood still flowing from his head...

There was no time to think about this now! Where could he possibly go? He looked around with clouded vision. A single tear escaped from the pools in his eyes and was immediately wiped away, along with all of the excess water remaining. He went to the pile of his stuff, dully noting that there was nothing of Shisui's. He foraged for anything of use in his new situation, and realized when he saw no food in the pile that he was actually thankful for Sakura buying his lunch that day.

* * *

Dawn broke and Sasuke watched the the brightness crawl between clouds and then buildings. Everywhere that didn't cost money was full-up. He resented his former roommate; this would be a hell of a lot easier if he had even a _little _bit of money to barter with, but he had barely anything.

He urged his sleepless body off the ground and checked the time displayed on the grand clock downtown. 'Might as well go to work early', his mind spoke bitterly. He made his way to the city bus central pickup station.


	7. Chapter 7 - Shisui's Story

**Bonus Shisui Chapter!**

**It's a bit oddly worded, but it's how it flew from my fingers. Enjoy!**

—

There had been a lot of possible families that had examined him, but had all decided that he was too independent and couldn't be molded to their will. All except for the leader of the gangs downtown who was always recruiting hopeless cases. He had adopted Shisui from the orphanage at the age of 12. He was fond of the way he could talk himself out of trouble, and how he could make others believe something so strongly that they wouldn't believe it was a lie afterwards. It would be a resourceful skill on the streets, and it was; Shisui would return double the profits as any other street rat. That's not all, his "father" hadn't even realized he'd been swindled when Shisui had convinced him to enroll the boy in school. See, Shisui had high hopes for his future, and knew that school would be the only way to reach them.

When he was 14 he attended KHS, a well-rounded school with uniforms and a pretty hefty fee. All major colleges would see it on applications as a plus and rub their greedy, greasy palms together. As being a shark's adopted child, he saw it all: From the single parents that were left with children; brilliant children with an amazing chance at future but no money, to the parents that were ignorant of their families and had spent their money lavishly on themselves and so needed the extra "ka-ching" to put their kids into school so they wouldn't look like bad parents. Of course with the latter, the kids usually ended up dropping out anyway. The owners of colleges didn't care about the suffering cause by their outlandish prices, all they cared about was how much money they could squeeze out of every person who attended.

It was at KHS that Shisui had met Itachi for the first time. By some odd stroke of luck, they had all the same classes. It was only a matter of time before the boy at the bottom of the food chain and the boy who had it all became friends. They were both intelligent 'mothers' with endless potential. Not unlike many students at this school, but they were seen as top of the crop even among their fellow stuges.

Itachi yearned to help Shisui out of the crime world, but they both knew that Shisui's family would never pay for a college degree. Itachi came up with a plan. When they graduated, they would get strong jobs that weren't scrutinized by legality and move in together. At the age of 18, Shisui's foster parent would have no say over his life anymore. Itachi's parents would simply view it as the next step in his life.

They were 18 and everything was going according to plan: Shisui had a job at the power plant and Itachi had a secretary job at the police station, courtesy of his father who was in charge. They had found a fancy little diddy uptown, it was a two-bedroom with hardwood floors. They made all the arrangements and moved in quite nicely. Itachi's younger brother would visit often, despite the location being out of his way and his apparent resentment for his older brother. They would speak of things that Shisui didn't have a complete grasp on; such as family and the positive expectations they held for their children.

At the age of 20 they had decided to enroll into college. Itachi got accepted into Harvard University, but Shisui did not. Shisui had Itachi convinced that his confirmation letter was lost in the mail and that he would need to re-apply for next year. Itachi had always believed him. He must've viewed something respectable with those wise raven eyes.

The new plan was that Itachi would move to Boston and wait for Shisui to join him. That summer Itachi had planned to visit the area with his mother (she wouldn't let him leave without her once she found out). Rage filled Shisui and he hated himself for it. Why didn't Itachi know he had lied? Did he seriously believe that he had the same chance to be admitted to Harvard? But rage was crushed into grief and sorrow when Itachi never returned to their apartment.

A few hours after Itachi's funeral, Shisui found Sasuke at his door. The younger brother had pleaded to live with him, and his guilt and respect for Itachi had agreed to take in this new burden.

Sasuke was a hard worker and did well to cover his responsibilities as a roommate. What more could be expected of Itachi's sibling? Meanwhile, Shisui was steadily loosing hours at the plant. There was a couple times when he needed to ask Sasuke to cover the rest of the rent; not daring to touch the money he had set aside for college. He was sick of himself, what kind of adult forced a minor to pay their rent? So, Shisui went to the man who he knew would always give him a source of income. His adoptive father.

Upon arriving downtown he realized he was completely right. His father was looking for some extra minds to cut into a major deal that would be happening soon. Unfortunately, there was an initial investment required; quite a large one at that. Shisui used the money meant for rent that month to buy a place in the deal. In the months that followed, the rent required was instead used to further his seat. You see, the more money that you invested, the more money you would have returned to you. This contract of shady dealings was also meant to be completed in six months, so Shisui's idea was that when the landlord threatened eviction he would be able to pay him back in full.

The wheels twirled out of control much quicker than expected. Every notice from the landlord or utilities was torn to bits and tossed into the garbage by Shisui's hands. He couldn't stand the idea of Sasuke knowing he was slumming it and gambling their home for an investment.

One day Shisui heard footsteps outside the door. When he checked there was nothing but a white piece of paper taped to the door, with large black letters that alerted "EVICTION NOTICE". He ripped it from the door and scanned it. It politely stated that he had ten days to vacate the premises if he didn't pay all the rent he owed within five days. He went to the landlord's and tried to barter for more time, but he would have none of it.

Nine days had passed. Shisui was in his room packing what he hadn't pawned. He would move to Boston and continue to try and get into Harvard. That was the least he could do for Itachi. As for Sasuke… He was a strong kid, he'd figure something out. He left his room, satisfied with his packing job for today, and saw Sasuke on the couch about to turn on the tv. He hadn't even heard him come in, how long had he been there? Did he know that Shisui was packing? Only one way to find out. He asked Sasuke for more rent money, if the boy had seen the stacks of boxes he would surely ask why. He did seem suspicious, but at Shisui's incredibly lame excuse he shrugged it off. Shisui again found himself wondering why he was trusted so easily.

He watched Sasuke retrieve the money; money that would be used in order to transport himself to Massachusetts. He should've asked for more so he could eat, too. He noticed that some bills remained in the wallet as Sasuke ascertained the amount needed. He nodded and grabbed the money, and took in Sasuke fully. He was really growing to look like Itachi. He was almost the same age as his brother was when they had gotten this apartment together. Shisui turned toward the door and said, "I'll see you later." Another lie. His only true friend was gone forever.

He made the arrangements to have his larger belongings, as well as the return on his investment, sent to him when he gave his father an address from Boston.

That night Shisui gathered his things together. When he passed through the kitchen he saw Sasuke's bag abandoned on the couch. He silently took the money from the wallet and left the appearance of an undisturbed bag. Shisui then caught a cab to take him to the bus stop. He made his peace with the fact that he'd never be as respectable or amazing as Itachi, because he already had dirt flowing through his veins.


	8. Chapter 8 - Reality And Fantasy

**Author's Note: Sorry for the wait! There was Thanksgiving here in Canada and then I got sick, so I was delayed. I'm all better now, though! Here is the chapta!**

* * *

He didn't realize how much he was affected from his lack of sleep until he started working. While he was opening the shop, he had dropped a milk jug and the white silk had spilled all over the floor. After he finished mopping, he was convinced that he wouldn't let himself drop anything else today; _until_a glass had slipped from his fingers as he pulled it out of the dishwasher. The sound as it shattered rippled through the air, and Sasuke sighed as he went to grab the broom.

The wooden doors were opened a few minutes late, but the customers didn't seem to mind. They just needed their morning coffee so they could function for the rest of the day. Cafe Oh Lala was opened before the rest of the mall, so when the small amount of people that had entered were served the silence resounded.

Sasuke made himself an espresso shot, in an attempt to wake himself up more. Kabuto nagged at him to pay for the shot, but Sasuke shrugged and knocked it back. One espresso shot wouldn't effect their profits, Kabuto was just trying to impose authority he didn't posses (espresso was wasted all the time with mistake orders). The bitterness tingled across his tongue, but he didn't feel any better. In fact, it seemed that his body decided to realize it was sore.

He leaned on the surface nearby to ease the stress in his legs. He looked on as everything remained quiet. "Hey!" Sasuke turned his head to his frustrated co-worker. "Quit standing around, there's work to do! Y'know, I am seriously contemplating telling Orochimaru to fire you." Kabuto's finger pushed his glasses back into place as he smirked his threat at him. He had expected for a fire to be lit under Sasuke, and to watch him scramble for something to do. Instead, Sasuke stayed in place. His dark eyes indifferent to what had been said.

"Hmph," Kabuto's arms crossed over his chest. "You think I'm bluffing. I'm tired of you walking around thinking you're so damn important, getting thrown out on your ass would do you some good!" A malicious smile spread across his face as he went back to the kitchen. Sasuke stared at the empty space momentarily before averting his eyes to the entrance once again.

The blonde girl from a few days ago walked in and ordered another latte. She sat on the same stool as before. After handing her the drink, Sasuke pressed his forearms onto the counter. His legs were screaming at him and he was thankful business was slow today. "I'm Temari." He looked at her; analyzing. She was wearing a grey scarf on top of a dark blue turtleneck. There was a tint of green in the sweater and Sasuke noticed it was to match the color of her eyes. She tapped the cup awkwardly with her fingernail. "Well..? What's your name?"

"Just because you decide to give your name freely doesn't mean I have to." Customers became too personal when they knew his name. Despite keeping it secret there were always people who would come in and declare it to him, pretending to actually know him. Like knowing his name meant they were his friend. It was a pain.

She looked irritated and chimed "Fine" before sipping her latte pointedly. He turned his head back the the front and felt her eyes on him. It somehow grew even more silent under her gaze, so he looked at her. She was looking at some of the empty liquor bottles that had been placed high up on the wall for decoration.

His head drifted back to the front and she eyed him again. He looked to her and saw her eyes shoot over to the side, suddenly heavily interested in whatever she was looking at. He scowled before grabbing his cleaning equipment and heading to the tables.

As he was cleaning she resumed that same behavior, so he walked up to her. "You're really annoying; either watch me or don't." She looked aghast, then smirked and spoke innocently: "But I'm not watching you."

"Bah!" Sasuke rounded away from her and walked to the opposite side of the shop. He thought he heard a giggle as the distance between them increased. 'What a frustrating woman!'

He was wiping away at a table when the calling of his name caught him off-guard. He shot his head toward the one who had declared it and saw his boss standing in the entrance. "What do you want?"

"Oh, come now, I just wanted to check on my favorite employee!" His boss waltzed over, and long black hair trailed behind. Sasuke turned away, wanting nothing more to be said. Orochimaru simply leaned over and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "Actually," a whisper came to Sasuke's ear, "I need to talk to you about something Kabuto told me." That bastard Kabuto! Sasuke's grip tightened on the cloth and the edge of the table.

Temari packed up her things and stood. "See you around… Sasuke." Her heels echoed on the floor as she made her way out of the shop. Sasuke sighed.

"Have a seat, Sasuke." Orochimaru's arm extended to a nearby booth, and Sasuke sat.

Orochimaru sat across from him. "Kabuto thinks I should fire you for being disrespectful and insubordinate; says that on top of that, you aren't working sufficiently today." Sasuke shunted his head to the side in reply.

"Now, I don't want to fire you. If you can supply me with a reason as to why your work ethic is suffering today, then I'll look the other way." Silence. Orochimaru's head tilted to the side and the black hair spilled over with it.

"I… didn't get any sleep last night," muttered Sasuke. He dragged his fingers along the smooth table-top and avoided contact with Orochimaru's eyes.

"Ah, I see… At your age I imagine that you were doing something scandalous. Did you have fun?" Orochimaru's long mouth stretched out into a small smile.

"What? No, I was looking for a—" Damn, it was a trap. "A new place," he finished. His boss's eyes angled like a fox from his growing smile, or perhaps they were angled like a snake.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Sakura added hot water to the noodles and placed it into the microwave. It was chrome, along with the other appliances in the kitchen. The walls were a redwood design and the counters were a light granite style. The window was oddly placed over the stove, and only had a view of the driveway. The reason being that there was a closet in place between the entrance and the kitchen, so the window had been set in an unreasonable place. Where the thickness of the closet ended, the fridge and cabinets had been placed. It was still a very nice kitchen, or at least Sakura thought so. Ino hated it. She figured a kitchen with such ugly design should at least have an open concept, not a wall cutting it off from the living room.

Sakura left the kitchen and crossed through the entryway to reach the hallway. The house had only one level to it, and the laundry room was at the start of the hall on her left. The carpet cushioned her steps as they passed her parents' room and the bathroom on her right. Her room was at the end of the hall across from the bathroom, and she opened the door. It was still messy from the day she decided to raid her wardrobe. But with no parents, who needs to clean their room?

She pulled off her pajamas and plucked a green garment up off the floor. She could remember the day she bought it: It was on a table that had a sign declaring a sale. "What a cute t-shirt!" She had said to Ino. Sakura's mom had charged through and declared they were leaving, so Sakura rushed the purchase and had found out later that she had actually bought a mini dress.

She pulled it on, then squeezed her legs into a pair of black tights that had been flung on top of her dresser. She stepped in front of the mirror and smoothed her hands down the dress. Green covered her collarbone but a cute leaf design made it look less plain. The dress had somewhat of a box shape but it did show that she had hips, which was hard to do because she had somewhat of a flat body. She turned around to see how she looked from the back when she heard the front door open. She stood in place and listened. Kaiser was outside so he couldn't fend off any intruders. Who would let themselves into her house?

"Sakuraa! Are you here?" The feminine voice called, and Sakura had her answer. There was only one girl she knew with that much gall.

Sakura returned down the hall. "You don't just walk in to someone's house, Ino!"

"Oh, Sakura… That's way too much green!" Sakura tugged at the end of her dress, "I think it's cute." Ino planted her fists into her hips. "That's because you haven't seen that it's the same color as your eyes, right?"

The microwave beeped and Ino looked into the kitchen. Her critical eye scanned all the popcorn bags on the table and countertops. "What's in the microwave? Please don't say popcorn."

"NO, Ino, it's noodles." Sakura rolled her eyes and walked to the microwave.

"That's just as bad, Sakura! Noodles make you stupid, just look at Naruto!" Ino stood at the opening to the kitchen and leaned against the archway. Sakura heard herself think, 'well in that case, maybe they make you nicer too' and smiled as she stirred up the noodles.

She sat down at the table and looked to Ino. "You can come in, you know." Ino looked as if a horrid smell was in the air, "no way! I'm not setting foot into this ugly kitchen!" Sakura shrugged, "okay then..," then slurped at her noodles.

"Well, bye!" And with that, Ino was out the door. Sakura found herself wondering why she had visited in the first place. She was glad she left though, because today Sakura planned to find out where Sasuke lived.

If he was home, he would see her and smile. Then he would say: "Pinky Sakura, What are you doing here?" A gentle wind would blow her hair and dress elegantly while he approached her.  
_"Nevermind, I'm glad you're here; I can't stop thinking about you." His charcoal eyes shined with hope as he took her hands into his._

_"Sasuke! You're all I can think about, too… I've tried but everything keeps—" One of his slender fingers pressed against her mouth. "Shh," his finger was then replaced by his lips. The sun gleamed at their sprouting love._

She blushed as she woke from her daydream and grabbed her jacket. In seconds, her boots were on and she was out the door.

* * *

'This is the place…' Sakura stepped off the bus at the same spot she saw Sasuke step off the day before. The frosty wind flung her hair about, and she was glad for the extra warmth of the grey jacket. She was walking through the dirt lot toward the apartment building when her eye was drawn to the odd pile of furniture outside.

She guarded herself from the flecks of dirt blowing at her as she made her way to it. There were a bunch of scratches and tears in the fabrics. When she leaned in closer to inspect it, a low rumbling was produced from an open space to her right. From the corner of her eye she saw the wide, yellow eyes glowing at her. She instantly moved away from the pile, knowing all too well how she fared against cats before. The multiple bandaids were still dotted around her skin as a reminder.

"What are you doing here?" She slowly turned and saw Sasuke; standing tall in all his beauty. The wind pulled at them and flung dirt in its wake, and unlike her fantasy, he didn't look happy to see her.


	9. Chapter 9 - Strange Encounters

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke repeated. She could only muster an "uhhhhhh" before realizing that she needed actual words. "I was j-just…" She shifted around and her eyes flung this way and that. _ 'Just WHAT?' _ The voice in her head echoed at her, _'what's the point? He already knows!' _She thought for herself to shut up when her eyes caught the pile behind her. "Just looking for my cat," she finished proudly. It was a good excuse, seeing as there was an actual cat nearby.

She felt the beam of his eyes crawl across her skin to inspect the bandaids, and a tingling sprouted on her cheeks. Sasuke then shrugged and his words were clear despite the wind, "that's too bad, if you had been looking for me then…"

Her eyes twinkled at the bait of her fantasy. "I did! I came looking for you!" She rushed up to him, eager for her imagined kiss. "I can't stop thinking about you."

She smiled up at him and he smirked back, but something about her illusion was cracking. His chin tilted up as if it was attached to his eyebrow. His smug look of satisfaction was completed by his downcast eyes.

She forced out a shaky laugh and brought her hand to her face. "I'm sorry about the cat thing… I didn't want you to think I was stalking you or something."

"But that's what you're doing," he stated simply. A sudden twinge bent her head and made her teeth clench across the false grin she wore. "And," he continued to utter; _'and I don't think I can take much more without hitting you,'_her inner mind finished. But instead, she was surprised to hear him say "you shouldn't lie."

Her anger fizzed out almost immediately. She adjusted her view to take in more of his person, even more anxious to know him now. Guys with a backbone that could put her in place when she was out of line were totally hot.

"You suck at it," Sasuke added. She placed a hand on her gut, having just been verbally punched there. Her belief of his morality fell down the elevator shaft attached to the heavens and quickly hit ground level.

She started a glare at him, ready to retort, but he was already walking away. "Wait! Where are you going?" She sped up to him and found that her feet had to stay at a light jog in order to keep up. His long legs made it easy for him to move ahead smoothly.

"I don't have time for this today, I need to find a place to live." She glanced back at the apartment complex. They looked to be well-kept from the outside.

"What's wrong with this place? It looks like a nice home. Is the rent too high?" His steps ceased, and she stood staring at his back.

"That cat's home..," his head twitched in her direction, but he remained facing forward. "Was taken from mine." Sasuke's feet resumed their pattern at a quicker pace.

He was pulling ahead; Sakura was scared she might lose sight of him. The words burst from her mouth before she knew it: "You can live with me! I have a spare room you could use!" He halted and looked back at her, his eyes and brow were scrunched together. Under this scrutiny she realized what a foolish proposition it was: 'come and live with your stalker!' Great idea, Sakura.

"Nevermind," she quickly muttered, and turned away.

* * *

Sakura walked all the way home alone. She had hoped he would stop her and accept the offer to live in her housebecause the more she thought about it on the way back, the fonder she grew of the idea. The house was so empty with just her and Kaiser there, and her mom didn't even permit Kaiser to sleep inside at night. Some company would be nice.

She opened the door and entered her house. Kaiser could be seen on the other side of the sliding glass door through the livingroom. She closed the front door and made her way towards her room.

When she reached her bed she plopped down and let out a groan. At first it was from looking like a fool, and then it was from being turned down so harshly. She spent a couple minutes being petrified on the bed.

She was snapped from her zone at the sound of the front door opening. Ino again? She needed to learn some courtesy. Sakura pushed her heavier-than-normal body off the bed and thudded into the hallway.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

_"I heard that an apartment was evicted recently. That couldn't have possibly been yours, now, would it?" His boss still had that same snake-like smile._

_Sasuke's eyes shot up to meet Orochimaru's, "how do you know about that?"_

_"You poor boy… Let's make a deal: you can leave early to scout out a new home, but if you don't find one by by tonight," there was a moments pause to increase the anticipation for the downside: "you'll stay with me." Orochimaru sat waiting for a response._

_Sasuke eyed him wearily before breaking the growing silence, "how is that a deal? Either way I end up with a place to live." He wasn't going to allow himself to be caught in Orochimaru's word traps again._

_The thin line of his boss's mouth grew further, but it wasn't reassuring. "You're a very clever boy. Not desperate enough to jump into someone's house yet, I see. But, what other option do you have besides living on the streets?" Orochimaru folded one skirt-covered leg over the other. "Ever since the police chief went M.I.A., the crime rates have been rising from the disorganization of the officers. Someone could get killed in those alleyways if they're not careful." His decorated eyes were fixed on Sasuke as he spoke, and Sasuke hated to admit that he was right._He needed to find a place and fast.

Orochimaru had intended to be his shelter, but at what cost? What constituted living with him that was considered to be the "bad side" of the deal? Sasuke shuddered at the thought of what his transgender boss might have in store for him if he didn't find a place tonight.

Sakura's voice rippled through his mind: "_You can live with me! I have a spare room you could use!_" She must be either incredibly naïve or incredibly desperate; to offer her home and privacy, even her safety, to someone she barely knew. In fact, there was no reason for him to trust her either.

His eye traced lawns and windows for "now renting" signs as he traveled, but there were none in sight. So far it seemed to be a repeat of his search last night. In an effort to dodge Orochimaru's deal, he decided to check the shelters again.

He walked up the steps to the largest shelter in the city, Nohara Home, and his knuckles echoed on the large wooden door. He stood there waiting until it creaked open and revealed a small woman with shoulder-length brown hair. "Oh, it's you again. I regret to tell you this, but… We're all full up again today, and will be for quite a while." She gave him a sympathetic frown and her brown eyes looked watery. "I'm sorry."

He nodded an understanding at her words, then waved a hand as he returned down the steps. It was a long shot, but there was another shelter a couple blocks over. His feet were growing heavier and his legs begged for a break, but he knew that if he stopped to rest he wouldn't be able to lift himself back up; so he pushed on.

He rang the bell beside the closed metal door. Thirty seconds passed and he buzzed it again. A few minutes went by and Sasuke must've rung the patron at least fifteen times. He gave up and turned to walk away when the door finally came open.

"Sorry 'bout that!" The man looked similar to Shisui and could've even been a distant relative to Sasuke's own family. He had black hair and eyes accompanied by a goofy grin. "I was helping an old lady with her things! She had a lot of heavy stuff for someone so homeless."

If that was a joke it wasn't very funny. "Whatever, do you have any space left? I need a place to stay."

"Rin didn't have enough room?" He received a blank look as a response. "Er, Nohara Home, I mean." Sasuke shook his head. The odd man scratched at his spikey hair. "I'm full too. An apartment caught fire and couldn't be rescued, so the tenants were forced all over the place… Have a good day!" The guy retreated and slammed the metal door shut.

So that's why everywhere had been filled up. But, if there had been an apartment that burned to the ground, how did Orochimaru know that he was evicted instead of being a tenant from one of the former units? He must be an even greater stalker than Sakura.

His next step was checking companies that rented out property. He stood at a payphone and used the phonebook to search up all the major names. He also grabbed a newspaper to check the listings. It took a couple hours and all of his quarters to find that none of them would except him without cash in hand; even though he had a cheque further down the road. Each time he hung the receiver down with more force.

Darkness was growing over the city as the sun continued to set. Another day without results, and his legs felt like rubber. He finally gave in to the demands of his body and sat on a nearby bench. The cold from the lonely bench spread through his body and sent a shiver up his spine.

Just then, Orochimaru pulled up in his yellow pinto. His tongue stroked at his red painted lips eagerly. Sasuke heaved a sigh and forced himself off the bench and into the car.

**—-**  
**Authors Note: Hello readers! :D**  
**Not sure why, but I decided to throw Rin and Obito into this chapter. Hope it was entertaining enough!**  
**I appreciate you all!**


	10. Chapter 10 - Let Me Breathe

**Author's Note: Thanks for being so patient with me, everyone! Also, let me know if you have any requests and I'll see what I can do :)**

* * *

Orochimaru opened the door to his home. Sasuke observed the daily lives: the stained cups and plates left on the coffee table; the wrinkled clothes splayed over the couch, chairs, and floor; the dust gathered on the flat surfaces; the newspapers and other written information piled onto the sofa. Apparently Kabuto and Orochimaru didn't believe in tidy living, not to mention the odd stench roaming about.

"So, Sasuke, since you're staying here I'd like for you to wear this." Orochimaru held up the weirdest outfit Sasuke had ever seen: it was a long-sleeved tan tunic that draped over tight black pants, attached at the waist by a giant purple rope.

"I'm not wearing that." Plain and simple. That thing wasn't coming near him.

"You have to honor our agreement, Sasuke." There was a threatening gleam to Orochimaru's thin eye, and his pale face looked grey from the lack of light.

_'You can live with me! I have a spare room you could use!'_He had to admit, it was a good back-up plan. "I found a new place, it's just going to take a couple of days to get everything in order for me to move in."

"Fine. Then you have to wear the temporary outfit." The 'temporary outfit' was lifted from the couch. It had the same rope that attached a purple wrapping to the waist. Underneath was a pair of black pants and a white collared shirt. Sasuke could see that all the buttons from the shirt were missing.

"Forget it, I'm not wearing any of your 'outfits'." Instead of putting the clothes down, Orochimaru smiled. "Okay, then you can wear what you have now on the street. We'll see if you end up at work tomorrow or if I have to start checking garbage bins."

"Fine, whatever." He was beyond caring now; his body was weary and sore, "where do I sleep?"

"Hmmm…" It was only a few seconds but it felt like a lifetime, _'cripes, if he takes any longer I'll pass out on this "_crumb-zoo_" of a carpet.'_

Finally, Orochimaru spoke: "you can sleep in my bed."

Sasuke scoffed, "forget it, I'm not sharing a bed with a gender confused fifty year old."

Orochimaru still held the clothes expectantly, unaffected. Kabuto's eyebrows sank so low they were beneath the rim of his glasses, "that's your boss you're talking to!"

"I'll sleep on the couch." He waltzed by them and grasped a stack of paper from the sofa. He found an open space on the table and set it down. There was no more room so he continued to move the other stacks onto the floor.

Kabuto was fuming behind his glasses. "Who said you could touch those?!"

"Shut up." Sasuke plopped down on the newly cleared space and, at long last, let the drowsiness take him.

* * *

He felt a tingling across his chest. '_Great, I shouldn't be surprised that they have bugs…'_ He shifted his weight to sit up when he realized that whatever was on him was much more than tiny bugs. "What the hell?! Don't touch me!" He swatted his boss's yellow fingernails away.

"You fell asleep without changing into your new clothes—"

"So what? It wasn't an invitation! Get off!" He shoved the figure of a woman back with his foot, and Orochimaru took hold off his calf. Lines were gently stroked into his leg, and Sasuke's heel struck against the invader's face.

Orochimaru tumbled over the edge of the couch and groans could be heard from below. Sasuke sighed and yanked the costume from the top of the couch. Preventative measures: it was time to change.

Kabuto rushed downstairs, "what happened?" Sasuke breezed by him into the bathroom. Despite the troubles he had with the rope and waist cloth, he soon found himself back on the couch. This time he wouldn't be woken up for such a stupid reason, and he couldn't care less about waking up on time for work.

He fell asleep easily despite Orochimaru's complaining and Kabuto's yelling.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Sakura stumbled into the hallway. "Ino, I already told you that—" she lifted her head and saw a man dressed in black, his face hidden under a ski mask. She could hear the echo of Kaiser's barks from the other side of the glass door.

An alarm sounded in her head when he launched toward her.  
She narrowly escaped his grasp by ducking under the small gap left between his outstretched arm and armpit. She squeezed through and then dashed toward Kaiser.

Suddenly her head was jolted back and tinged with pain.  
When she looked behind her, she saw her pink strands were entangled within his black glove. "Guh!" She yanked herself forward, but it felt like her scalp would rip off if she continued; his grip was strong.

In a moment she was on the ground.  
Her cheek was flattened against the hardwood and was pulsing with the pain from impact. _'This can't be happening!_' A pressure was stabbing into her back and she found that she couldn't move her body. Sakura stretched out her limbs in hopes of grasping something she could use for leverage, or a weapon, and her fingers grazed something. She shakily stretched her neck up to see her ray of hope: it was a phone cord, thin and fragile.

The pressure lifted from her back;  
she felt the leather glove grasp her shoulder and start to pull. She immediately forced herself to the floor. _'You think it's gonna be that easy?! Cha!'_She grasped the tiny string and jerked it backward.

The phone flung off the side table and aimed at the attackers head.  
She heard the clatter behind her and quickly escaped from underneath the man. His sleek gloves grabbed at her and barely lost hold of her clothes as she bolted for the lock of the glass door.

He caught her ankle in mid-step,  
and her face met her reflection. She scrambled against the door and flipped the lock, seeing her faithful companion on the other side for only a moment before she was torn away and flattened onto the carpet.

His forearm pressed into her throat as he worked a hand up her dress.  
Tears began to sprout from her eyes and it was getting harder to breathe. She felt his greedy fingers tug at her tights and tried to scream, but the force at her neck pressed in deeper. Gasps burst from her throat from a desire for air. The surroundings fizzed with dots that poured into her vision.

The air stole the warmth from her freshly exposed body.  
She didn't want to be conscious for what was next. She tightly closed her eyes and wished for the darkness to take her, and to blot out the future. There was a feeling that she was falling backward. _Zip._

For some reason she could breathe clearly,  
and the brightness was returning her to reality. She cried at her one wish not being granted, until she realized that their was no longer a weight pressed on top of her. She pulled in shaky breaths as she rose.

She looked beside her and saw Kaiser's speckled grey back. Her attacker could be seen clambering to his feet and, upon gaining his footing, making a break for the door. Kaiser burst after him and pounced on his heel, growling a warning as his teeth quivered.

The man cried out and kicked in an attempt to shake the dog loose. The growling quickly escalated over the struggle of the leg. It tore away from Kaiser's jaw and the mystery man instantly bolted for the open front door. The bloody fabric left in the dog's teeth fell to the floor, and Kaiser was in between the stranger and the exit before it hit the ground. The herding blood in his veins was pumping hard.

Sakura fixed herself as she watched the guy panic, giving the appearance of being human. He began to run to the back door and Kaiser nipped at the feet to direct him into the hallway.

His foot shot forward at Kaiser's head, then he charged by the angered dog in an attempt to return to the front entrance. The dog's sharp teeth pierced his wrist. He hollered and spun around to throw punches with his free hand.

Kaiser released and bit at the attacking arm when the man took off out the door. The dog halted in the doorway and watched the retreat. The stranger escaped from view and Kaiser returned to Sakura's side.


	11. Chapter 11 - Comforting

Sakura was curled in a cocoon of quilts on her parents' bed. She could feel Kaiser's body pressed onto her feet. She was sweating like crazy but felt like she couldn't get warm inside. _'If Kaiser hadn't have been there…'_ She shook herself deeper into the comfort of the blankets and decided that she needed some company.

* * *

There was a thunk as someone tried to enter the house. "Sakura! Open up, its me!" Ino's bright blue eye peeked through the window beside the front door. Sakura moseyed her way over and slowly opened up the door for her friend, unsure how to tell her of the havoc that had happened a mere hour ago. Thankfully she didn't have to, upon entering, Ino immediately noticed the drops of blood that were left on the floor by the escaping attacker. "Are you hurt? What happened here?"

"Someone broke in… And…" She looked up at Ino, not able to say anything more. Ino stroked the bruise on Sakura's cheek and then hugged her. "You sounded weird on the phone, so I brought my pajamas." Sakura smiled and squeezed Ino's sturdy form.

* * *

They watched movies and laughed. Things were just as normal as they'd ever been, yet it felt so surreal. It was as if her outer casing was doing the laughing for her, and she was hollow on the inside.

"Okay, that's enough about my minor crush on Chouji when I was three!" Ino giggled. The times they were laughing at seemed like a different life all together. "How are you feeling? Are you able to talk about it now?"

"I…" She looked down at Kaiser.

"You have to let it out, Sakura, or else you'll end up holding on to it forever." Ino pressed a hand onto Sakura's shoulder.

She frowned and opened her mouth to speak; she really wanted to tell her friend what had happened, but there was a blockage of words caught in her throat. Her mouth was sucked dry of any moisture it contained and she swallowed. "Well..," she looked at Ino, but turned back away when the missing moisture from her mouth built up in her eyes. "I came into the hallway, I thought it was you again." She coughed out a sob, then sniffled it back and continued: "he tried to grab me, and I avoided him somehow... Then he grabbed my hair." She held her hair at the back of her head to demonstrate. Before she continued with the tale she brushed an arm across her eyes in a failed attempt to dry them.

Ino grabbed Sakura's wrist, and Sakura looked at her. "Sakura, you have to let it all out. No matter how painful." Ino shrugged a smile at her.

Sakura nodded, looking down at her wetted sleeve, and pushed on. "He forced me onto the ground," Ino's jaw dropped, "so I threw the phone at him for a distraction."

"That's my girl!" Ino beamed at her with reassuring fists of victory.

Sakura couldn't help but smile, even though tears slid down her face. "I unlocked the door for Kaiser," she gestured to the sliding glass door, "but he pulled me away before I could open it. And then—" That was when his hand had intruded, and when she thought she was done for. Her tear ducts became reservoirs.

Ino was on the edge of her seat, her eyes already angry from expectation. Sakura burst into sobs and the dams of her eyes overflowed and soaked her cheeks. "I thought he was going to rape me! Maybe even kill me, Ino!" Ino's arms were wrapped around her so tightly that she could barely move, but the sound strength was comforting.

It was a few minutes before Sakura's cries trickled down into sniffs and exhales, and even longer before she decided she wanted to move.

Ino released her. "Wait, have you called the cops yet?"

Sakura soaked up the water on her face with her blanket. "No..," she shyly eyed Ino.

"I can't do it for you!" Sakura's eyes grew larger and it looked like she was about to lose it again. "Alright, fine! I can call them for you, but just this once! I swear, Sakura, you'd be hopeless without me."

Ino pulled out her phone, "but!" Sakura looked at her. "You have to promise me something." She promptly nodded to Ino. "Promise me you won't let this creep ruin your opinion on guys. Just because this guy was a total scumbag doesn't mean that you should start fearing men, okay?"

Sakura slowly nodded. "I promise."

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**(Spoiler alert!: If you don't read the manga chapters you'll probably want to skip Sasuke's dream sequence!)**

He was a ninja, just like his brother before him. The new eyes his brother had bestowed on him were finally set in place in his sockets. The trade was a good one, and he could feel their power combined with his own.

Even though his brother was killed by his own hand, he was now pursuing him through the trees. Itachi's signature crows shot out at him to delay his advance in an attempt to keep him from entering through the barrier after him. Sasuke burst through the illusion of crows and his red eyes spotted the crack in the forcefield where Itachi had squeezed through.

Upon entering the cave, it was discovered that Kabuto was to blame for the resurrection of the dead. He had summoned many bodies from the grave in order to create invincible and skilled soldiers for battle. Itachi had come to put an end to the technique. Sasuke joined his older brother.

If they ended Kabuto's life, the jutsu would continue. So, they had to take control of Kabuto's mind and force him to do it willingly. Their eye techniques created ethereal warriors that could encase them in a protective energy, as well as attack. Kabuto countered by transforming his skin into scales to resemble a snake/dragon.

The battle raged as there were snakes and blades swung around. Kabuto had the upper hand, he was a talented medic and had a wide rang of jutsu gained from Orochimaru.

Itachi charged into close combat to lure Kabuto into his trap, and succeeded. Kabuto's mind was trapped in an infinite loop, and was no longer in control of his brain. The jutsu was ended, and Itachi's final moments of "life" were fast approaching. Sasuke didn't want to lose him again, but knew there was no other way.

Itachi's form was dwindling away, and he paced his fingers at the back of Sasuke's head and pulled their foreheads together. "No matter what happens to you from here on out… _I will always love you._"

* * *

He could still feel the pressure on his forehead, and thought that perhaps the world he was living in now was the real dream. Sasuke gently opened his eyes with a desire for the dark eyes that he had spent cumulative hours studying in photographs, the eyes that he could barely remember having life inside. Instead of meeting the eyes that were similar to his own, he saw a yellow hue staring back at him. He tried to blink them away in his daze.

Orochimaru crooned, "good morning, Sasuke." The coloured red lips grew into a smile.

"Get off." Sasuke shoved his boss away and dragged himself off the couch. "I'm going to shower." His barefeet patted against the hardwood, and then tile. He brought the door to a click behind him and sighed. It felt like it had been years since his brother had passed away, even though it wasn't even a full one. He grasped at the fabric on his back and pulled it over his head, then dropped his arms down with another hefty exhale.

His eyes hooked on themselves in the mirror. He observed the slim figure, and the trace of his firm muscles dressed in pale skin. He looked strange, though, like he didn't match the image of himself above the sink.

He shook the stray thoughts from his mind and finished pulling off his clothes. He stepped into the shower started the water. The cold splattered against him before the warm water rushed through and began to soothe.

It was okay to let his tears run in the shower; they were washed away with the current, however, the feel of them still stained his cheeks. He wiped his face and turned to grab the soap when he noticed something: a single eye peering through the crack at the end of the curtain. It drew back without delay, and he heard the feet scurry out of the bathroom.

He stared in disbelief at the now empty space. He scowled and hurriedly washed up. When he was perfectly rinsed he jumped out of the shower and whipped the towel around himself. Then he charged out into the livingroom where Orochimaru was politely perched on the couch.

"Listen, Orochimaru. I don't care if you think you're entitled to my body by letting me stay here: stay out of my personal space. I will beat up my boss if I have to." The cross-dresser smiled slyly, "I like your spunk."

"Shut up." Sasuke returned to the bathroom and threw on his work uniform. He could hear Kabuto bitching about his attitude to Orochimaru on his way out the door.

* * *

**Hello Everyone! Okay, so this one was a bit of a downer, but it must be done! Let me know if you want to see more of something or if anything is unsatisfactory and I will work on it.**


	12. Chapter 12 - The First Step

So far he hated being cooped up in that disgusting house, and there had already been _three_ instances of perverted conduct against him all in one night! Even with the warning he expressed to his boss, at this rate things were only prone to escalate.

But what could he do? He didn't get paid for another few days and he had never hungered for money so much in his life. He only needed a better place while he waited for his paycheck, then he would be able to rent something.

He'd have to accept Pinky's offer. She may be a stalker, but she wasn't a huge creep like his boss. Her motives were almost charming, they described that she wanted to be with him. Orochimaru, on the other hand, was a complete mystery. At this point Sasuke wouldn't be surprised to find that the confused man desired to wear his skin, or something equally as disturbing.

* * *

After work he roamed around the mall looking for the bright hair that resembled bubble gum. It was an alien feeling to be searching for someone, so he made quick work of it. He scurried through the mall and skimmed all the heads he could see, but unfortunately, no pink.

Where else would she be? _'How is it that she can find me anywhere, but I don't have the slightest idea how to find her?'_Was he that easy to trace?

Sasuke left the mall and started the trek back to Orochimaru's, then turned and headed in a different direction. He had no reason to return to that place just yet, even though his legs and back still grudged against him.

* * *

He realized that the area he had wondered into was intoxicatingly familiar. Down the block, the place he used to live with his family could be seen. As well as the dreaded pavement in front of it. He stopped: questioning if he wanted to go further.

"Sasuke!" He turned around and saw the worst person imaginable: Naruto. There was a goofy grin plastered onto his stupid face as he jogged over, still waving. _'Kill me now...'_

"Sasuke! How've ya been?" It took a couple seconds for Naruto's slow brain to take in Sasuke's appearance; "you look terrible." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I've been worse, so shut up and leave me alone." Naruto frowned, "come on, Sasuke! How many times do I need to say that I'm sorry? It's not like-"

"You'd never be able to say it enough!" Sasuke stood at his full height and glared into Naruto's blue eyes. It was silent, and with his point made, Sasuke briskly walked by him in his rage. "Wait!" Naruto could be heard straggling behind him, and his movement was becoming more muffled the further behind he fell. Sasuke was en route to the graveyard and figured that Naruto lacked the effort to catch up because of it.

There was a blunt force that drove into his back and lifted him off his feet; arms snaked around his waist as he fell. He was slammed into the soil and scoffed at the surprise attack. "Come on, Sasuke! I miss when we were friends!" Naruto got up off him. "Don't you?"

Sasuke stayed on the ground in quiescence. When he was a kid, he had always focused on trying to beat his brother at whatever he was doing. But Itachi was only satisfied when he was doing multiple things at once, so Sasuke fumbled in comparison to the genius. He had tried so hard to shine from the large shadow, and because he devoted all his time, effort, and energy to that goal, he didn't have any left for friends. He knew Naruto from birth; their moms were close and always made time for them to be together. However, after the incident, he had cut his ties with everyone. He had no friends. "Anyone would be a better friend than you."

Naruto sighed above him, and shuffled to his feet. "You're probably right, Sasuke, but I'll never stop trying to be your friend again. I'll make it up to you, even if it takes the rest of my life to do it! Trust me." Sasuke lifted himself to his feet, he wanted to get away from this bad memory as quickly as possible. "If you need anything I'll do it," Naruto continued to beg, "believe me!"

'_Really?_' Time for a test. "Actually, I'm looking for someone." Naruto couldn't believe his luck: "Ehh?! Really! Who, who! Tell me! I'll track them down in no time! Believe it, Sasuke!" Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him. '_What an unreasonable amount of enthusiasm...'_

"Her name is Sakura." He twisted his body so he could see Naruto. He looked like a complete idiot (meaning that he looked like he should). "Sakura HARUNO?" He gaped. Sasuke shrugged, "pink hair."

"I didn't know that you knew her... How does a guy like you know such a-... an awesome girl like her?" his eyes downcast and his shoulders sank. "Hey, moron, can you help me or not?"

"Yea, I know where she lives. Follow me."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Sakura opened her eyes due to a distant sizzling noise. A warm air came across her nostrils and she recognized it as the smell of bacon. She pulled her body from the bed and looked to the spot beside her where Ino had slept; it was empty. '_Could Ino actually be cooking?_'

Sakura made her way to the kitchen and noticed a fully packed bag placed beside the front door. "You're leaving?" Ino spun around and gave an apologetic smile, "yeah. But I'm cooking you breakfast first!"

Sakura frowned and trained her eye to the floor. "I was hoping you'd be able to stay for a while..." Ino sighed and approached her. "Sakura, if I stay you won't grow. You have to get your independence back!"

"Could you at least stay for tonight?" Sakura focused her large green eyes into Ino's light blue ones, "please?" Ino grasped her blonde ponytail and traced her hands across it. "No, I can't. It's all part of the healing process..."

"There's something you're not telling me." Ino held her gaze a few seconds before sighing. Sakura had a large forehead for a reason afterall. "Yeah, I finally got a date with Shikamaru!"

She was almost floored, Ino was ditching her for a _date_?! "Are you kidding me? I really need you, Ino! Just reschedule it!"

Ino stepped back. "I've thought about that, Sakura! If I try and reschedule him he'll say it's too troublesome and won't bother dating me! Besides, you're practically all better anyway!" Ino crossed her arms over her chest, "You're old enough to look after yourself, I'm not your babysitter."

"I can't believe this! That you would ditch me for a stupid date!" Sakura charged out of the kitchen toward her room. Ino stalked her steps, "I'll have you know that Shikamaru is a genius! There's nothing stupid about it!" Sakura slammed the door in Ino's face.

"FINE! Be that way, Sakura!" She heard Ino thump down the hallway. It was quiet for a few moments, then came a large bang.

The fresh emptiness created began to settle in the house like dust.

She was stuck to the couch, and felt like she couldn't move. The air was thick. Her blanket kept her company as Kaiser was outside.

Someone knocked at the door and Sakura was stunned in staring at it. What if it was that man, back to finish what he had started? '_You fool, it's probably Ino_.' Sakura moved off the couch with the quiet and slow pace of a hunting animal, except not as graceful; she couldn't stop the shaking caused by the thought of the black ski mask.

She arrived at the door and was reaching for the handle when she heard a male voice outside: "are you sure this is her house? I can't believe I listened to an idiot like you." It sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it. "Yes, its right! Believe it!" There was a loud pound at the door that knocked Sakura out of her daze.

That annoying tone could only belong to Naruto. Naruto was a friendly guy, but he was just so loud all the time. And sometimes he'd forget about personal boundaries.

She slowly opened the door to reveal his blue eyes and blonde spiky hair, and nearly did a double-take when she saw Sasuke.

"Seee, Sasuke? I told you, I knew this was it!" Naruto crossed his arms and nodded. For some reason Naruto always had endless confidence.

Sasuke's eye was drawn to the dark patch on her face and he smirked out a scoff. "What are you, Pinky, a masochist? You need to take better care of yourself."

"Oh." Her hand went up pointlessly to cover the splotch on her cheek.

"Holy hell, Sakura!" Naruto shoved Sasuke aside to get to her. His tanned fingers clasped her jaw, "what on earth happened to your face?"

"Hey!" She belted him across the nose with the knuckle of her fist. "Don't you have any manners?! It's called personal space for a reason, Naruto!" He was flung off the front stoop to the lawn from the power of her punch. As she shifted her weight back to normal she saw Sasuke pull his hand away from his face and look at her. Her breath was caught when their eyes connected.

Naruto's whimpered apology as he held his nose made her realize she wasn't dreaming. Sasuke was here in the flesh, on her doorstep. She smiled, "hi Sasuke!"

He shoved his hands in his pockets and his shoulders tightened. "Can I speak to you for a second?" Her eyelashes flittered, "sure..."

His fingertips lightly touched her arm as he moved aside. She walked forward, amazed at how gentle he seemed with her. His hand slid to her back and steered her. She followed neatly, concentrating on the area where he was making contact with her.

When he stopped and lifted his hand away, she turned around to face him. They were on the opposite side of the lawn from Naruto. It was strange because it felt like they had walked farther than a few steps.


	13. Chapter 13 - The Second Step

The heat from the sun was on her back, and a gentle breeze momentarily pushed the warmth aside. Sasuke's stern voice rang in her ears, "how do you know Naruto?"

She blankly stared. How did teenagers usually meet other than school? '_I must've misheard him._' She leaned her ear over, "what?"

"Naruto..," his eyebrow twitched, "how do you know him?"

_'There is no way he pulled me aside just for this, right?' _She leaned back and crossed her arms. "We went to school together."

"Tch... That doesn't explain how he knows your house." He dropped his hands into his pockets and loosely slumped his shoulders back.

Sakura sighed at his interrogation. "My parents throw parties all the time, practically everyone knows where I... Live." She brought her hand to her mouth.

She didn't know how many seconds passed before he leaned toward her; his jet black irises transformed to a slate grey by the sunlight. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, um... M-hm!" She shook off the worry with nodding and a fake smile. "So, why did you want to know about me and Naruto?"

He cocked back. "Uh, that's not what I..," he looked off to the side and his hand appeared at his neck.

She eyed him wearily, _'this better not be one of Naruto's pranks..._'

He cleared his throat into his fist: "I'd like to move in with you."

She blinked out her surprise, then frowned. '_Why didn't he ask that earlier?! But no, he had to make me feel like an idiot!'_ Plus, how was she supposed to move in with a random guy when the stranger who tried to rape her was still on the loose? "Um, well..." What if Sasuke _was _the guy? She just couldn't-

A sigh broke her concentration. "Then why did you offer?" He shook his head and turned away. It was sad to see him go; a more naive version of herself would've jumped at the opportunity. Heck, she had herself believing that they were soul mates, and now he was walking out of her life forever. She wasn't sure how, but she knew that once he was out of sight she would never see the mysteriously captivating Sasuke Uchiha again.

When suddenly he stopped and looked back at her, straight into her eyes. _'Why did he stop?_' He raised an eyebrow at her, and she wondered if maybe she had said his name during her musing. He then gestured at the hands clasped around his wrist; they were hers.

"Oh! Hehe, sorry..." What did this mean? Was her body telling her to go ahead with it? Her instincts had never guided her wrong, countless times of ignoring them had shown her that much. She searched for an answer within his eyes: there was a small light, as if he was nearing the end of a long and dark tunnel. "...I've changed my mind," she mumbled.

"You'd better not be jerking me around." He swung to face her fully. She smiled before shaking her head, "I almost wish I was."

His fingers slid onto her wrist and she couldn't repress her blush. He was beginning to pry her hand off when Naruto slyly appeared beside them. "What're you two up to?" He eyed their hands suspiciously and Sakura released her grip. She cusped her hands behind her back and laughed nervously.

"It doesn't concern you, Dolt." They both looked at Sasuke, who had replaced his hands into his pockets. He nodded professionally to her before swerving around again.

This time she felt accomplished; the air left was completely opposite from before. '_Score another point for instincts.'_

* * *

She tapped her fingers on her bare knees. Sasuke had said was moving in, but failed to specify _when_. He had taken off again before giving her any details. It was dark outside, and she was actually hoping he'd be moved in already. _'It's not like he could have that much to move, his furniture is still in that dusty lot.'_

There came a knock at the door and she hopped up. She looked back at Kaiser, his ears were perked but his eyes displayed a curiosity. She calmly walked to the door and reached for the handle. '_What if it's not Sasuke?' _She pulled back and was about to look through the window when the knuckles rapped harder on the wood. She smirked at his impatience and opened the door.

"Do you always wait for people to knock twice, or are you just slow?" He pushed passed her and she narrowed her eyes at him. _'Maybe my instincts aren't so great after all...' _He stood in the livingroom and observed the layout.

"And what's your deal, huh? What kind of person moves into a place in the middle of the night? I could've been happily asleep!" She tasted the lie on her lips.

"Heh, sure, it's perfectly normal to sleep with every light on." He looked over his shoulder to her, wearing a taunting smirk.

"Hmph, I was waiting for _you._" She threw her arms together over her chest.

"Alright, since I'm here now... Where am I sleeping?" He turned attentively to her.

Even she wasn't allowed in her parents' room, so there was no way he was staying there. He'd have to make do with what she could give. "On the couch, right here." She gestured her arm to the furniture and fluffed a pillow for effect.

He dropped his bag on the floor against the fabric, and she couldn't take her sights off of how out of place it was. If her mother knew about this she would kill her. Ino was the only visitor allowed, and she squirmed at the idea of a forbidden guest's belongings in plain sight, "I can probably find a place for your things in the garage..."

He gave her an incredulous look, "am I actually allowed to stay here?"

She gawked at his insight. _'How does he do that? I can't hide anything from this guy! He leaves me no choice, I have to tell the truth.'_ She swallowed hard, "don't be ridiculous! Of course you can stay here! You think I'm so foolish that I'd invite someone to live with me if they weren't allowed?" His eyebrow scaled up as she talked, "my parent's are on vacation and said I could have anyone over! It's just that I'm a _major_ neatfreak! Y'know what, you might as well use my parents room since they're not here! Just keep it clean and tidy, okay? Hahahahaha! They don't like people using it!"

"Okay, I get it, you can shut up now. No guests are usually allowed, so I'll put my stuff in the garage and sleep on the couch." He grinned, "you're a terrible liar."

She grumbled that she was tired and slumped her way to bed, defeated for now.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

"What're you two up to?" Naruto's eyes slinked from their hands to their eyes, and Sakura ripped her hands away. She forced out a laugh and he wasn't sure why she was so embarrassed; it's not like they were secretly holding hands. However, it still bugged him that Naruto was shoving his nose in where it didn't belong. "It doesn't concern you, Dolt." They looked at him with surprise and he decided that he was done socializing. He gave a nod to Sakura to resolve their business before taking his leave.

"Hey, where are you going?!" Naruto's feet thudded close behind.

_'Again with the nose...' _He wasn't about to let on that he was moving in with a girl he barely knew. "None of your business."

Sasuke's shirt was grasped at the shoulder and yanked backward, "what's that about, Sasuke? I helped you find her, ya know!"

"Yes," he didn't bother to look at Naruto as he brushed off the hand, "now go away, loser. I don't want to hear your voice anymore."

"You can't say that! We had a deal, remember? You said we'd be friends again!" It was obvious that he was grinning, thinking his redemption would be _so _easy.

Sasuke stopped and glared into the shimmering blue eyes. "If you cleaned out your ears every once in a while then you'd know I didn't say that."

Naruto squinted his eyelids so they appeared to be closed, and there was finally silence. Sasuke resumed walking, _'now he just needs to go away.'_

An annoying jingle burst through the quiet followed by an "Oh shit!" He heard Naruto pat down his pockets, then find his phone and flip it open. "Mom! I'm almost home, I swear!" The screeching of the feminine voice even reached Sasuke's ears, and Naruto quickly bolted down the street.

"Huh..," he smirked at his fortune.

* * *

By the time he reached his boss's house the sky was painted orange. He opened the door and the musty smell quickly encased him. "Ah, Sasuke!" The words crawled from the androgynous lips, "I was wondering where you've been."

He looked up to see Orochimaru and Kabuto huddled together under the blanket. Orochimaru's unclothed arm wiggled out and waved him over, "come join us, my Sasuke~". Kabuto rolled his eyes, and Sasuke noticed that he wasn't wearing his glasses.

A shudder rose up his back like an earthquake and he had to swallow down the vomit. "U-gh..." He couldn't even dignify a response, and went to gather his belongings. _'As if I needed another reason to leave...'_

He could feel the yellow eyes sucking in his movements, tracing the outlines of his clothes as he packed. Ready to pounce at any sign of weakness. "My living arrangements are in order, I'm getting my things and leaving."

"Ohh?" Orochimaru drawled, "so it wasn't a lie."

"Bah." He quickly stepped to the exit.

"But Sasuke," he glanced at him and regretted it immediately; his boss was wearing a bra on his naked torso. "You need to clean up the place before you leave."

"Heh, there's no reason for me to do that. You're big boys, you can clean up your own mess." He swung the door open and observed the setting sun, and the peach light that it spread across the rooftops and road.

His foot stepped out, and Orochimaru intervened. "If you don't clean the apartment before you leave you shouldn't bother coming to work on Monday."

Sasuke whipped around, "you can't fire me, this has nothing to do with work!"

"I think you'll find that he can," Kabuto sniggered from behind the boss. Sasuke scowled and dropped his bag on the floor.

"Ah, good! The hiring process is so undesirable." Orochimaru flung his hair back with a flick of his wrist, and Kabuto sneered as he slid on his glasses.

'_Okay, the quicker it's done the sooner I'll be out of here for good._' He snapped on a pair of pink rubber gloves that reached his elbows. He also found a mouth covering that he hooked on his ears. Who knew what was in this place?

* * *

The moon had steadily climbed the sky as he swept, vacuumed, scrubbed, and patted.

Sasuke opened the door to the basement and descended the dark stairs. The only illumination was provided by a dozen heating lamps, each to a different glass tank. Various types of plants were entangled in themselves beneath the lights and drew odd figures across the room in shadow.

He inched his way closer, looking for any inhabitants inside the tanks. There seemed to be different cultures of plant within each enclosure; most were green and leafy but there were some white sprouts and red blooms along the path, even some berries. He peered in through all sides but there were too many leaves and condensation to see any creatures.

Sasuke's eye was caught by movement on the back wall. '_Cold-blooded animals... How appropriate._' Different coloured leaves were bursting from the tops of these containments. His fingers stretched toward the nearest leaf- "What are you doing down here?! You're not allowed, get out!" Kabuto tore him away and shoved him toward the stairs.

"What-" Kabuto shoved and shoved until they were back at the top of the stairs. Sasuke smacked his hands away, "what are those for; in the basement?"

Kabuto's eyes glinted with malice as he adjusted his glasses, Sasuke opened his mouth to speak but long fingers slid around his collarbone to rest on his chest. Sasuke gripped the wrists and pulled them with the full length of his arms as he ducked his head and curved his back. Orochimaru crashed into Kabuto.

"I'm outta here." He tore off his safety equipment and tossed it to the ground. He made his way to the door and Orochimaru spoke again, "you should stay here for the night. It's already gotten _so _dark outside."

He opened the door, "I'll be surprised if it stays clean in here for more than a day."

The moonlight reflected in Orochimaru's eye and shined like a wolf cornering it's prey. "We wouldn't want any accidents to happen to you on those streets, my little Sasuke."

Sasuke smirked and lifted his bag from the floor, "see you Monday."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait! **I was helping my sister with her decision to quit her job, and then I had to work 13 days in a row when I normally work 5 days a week. Needless to say it's been a busy time. Also, this chapter wouldn't stop arguing with me and all-in-all just didn't want to work for the longest time. I'm hoping future chapters will be more co-operative. :P

**Thanks for reading!**

P.S. Special mentions to **OREI** for the wonderful review! I loved it :) Also to **Raikiri80** and **LadyMartel4000** for their frequent input, it seriously helps! And another thanks to **Yunata** for the request of more SasuSaku moments and for **TheGirlWhoIsInLoveWithJapan** way back in the beginning for requesting character description, because I didn't realize how important it would be to the story haha.

I'll try to update the next chapter sooner this time, thanks everyone for your patience!


	14. Chapter 14 - Daily Duties

_The moonlight touched the ground, and the blue glow was as bright as early morning. She knew that something was wrong, despite Naruto's efforts to comfort her. He hadn't seen him in the Chunnin exam; the monster he had become. If she was right and he really was leaving, then she would cut him off and stop him. _

_There was only one exit that would lead you out of the Land of Fire, and she would wait all night if she had to. _

_But she didn't have to. The second she arrived she heard the lonely steps, booming in the quiet of the night. She revealed herself to him, knowing it was Sasuke approaching. The purple straps of his backpack were tightly fastened on his shoulders._

_He inquired as to why she was here, and at this hour. She revealed that she knew why he was here, making it obvious that she intended to stop him. He told her to go home, and tried to brush her emotions aside by simply ignoring them as he walked by her._

_She thought they were closer than this. They had been through so much together, she didn't understand why he would put himself through this pain. If he had just opened up more he could be happier. Instead he shut it all up inside and was drowning in his own misery. Her tears began to fall for him. When she called him out on this, he tried to push her away with harsh words._

_She knew that he didn't really feel that way, and reminisced about when they first became a ninja squad. Their first moment together was in this very spot; he had called her annoying. She felt happier herself looking back on brighter days, but his words cut her when he said he didn't remember. She pushed on anyway, trying to prove that he belonged here with her and the others. _

_She told him of the emptiness of his revenge so he could compare the paths. She was surprised when he admitted to knowing the path he was choosing. She finally got him to open up to her, but it wasn't what she wanted to hear. He told her that he was different from them, and that he had decided his path. _

_But how could someone choose that for themselves? She knew she was losing him and began to panic. She cried out about the pain of loneliness, and tried to sway him by expressing how lonely she would be aswell if he left her. The realization hit her in the gut, that he might actually leave even though it would cause so much pain to everyone. Her calm tears began to sting in her eyes._

_He talked about the new paths they all will take, which alarmed her that he was leaving. She made a declaration of love. She felt so exposed in the chilly night air and began to shiver. The night was too quiet and she could only hear herself crying. Then he turned to her with a crooked smile and called her annoying, affirming that he really did remember._

_She didn't have time to react before his footsteps started up again. She yelled for him not to leave in her desperation, and as a last-ditch effort she called out a warning to him that she would scream if he did._

_He disappeared from sight and her heart froze in her chest. Suddenly he was behind her. He gently spoke her name, and then thanked her. She looked up, soaking in his thanks. _

_Then it went black._

* * *

She shot up to a sitting position when she woke. She wiped at her wet cheeks, '_how strange... How long has it been since I woke up crying_?' Her groggy mind tried to recall. She surmised that it was amoung the time in middle school when Ino's friends were jealous of her.

She was wiping her eyes when she heard a clutter in the kitchen. '_What the hell_?' She slid on her slippers and opened her bedroom door. It wasn't as chilly this morning as it had been recently, but she put her housecoat on anyway.

She made her way to the kitchen while sifting her fingers through her hair. When she got there, she could barely believe her eyes. Every door in the kitchen was wide open: pantry, drawers, fridge, cupboards! There were even random objects strewn about that used to be in the storage areas. "Sasuke?" His dark eyes appeared over the edge of the table.

"You need groceries," he stood and pulled up a bag of potatoes from beneath the sink. He took one from the bag to demonstrate: "badly."

She looked at the vegetable that was covered in white sprouts. "Okay, point taken. In the meantime, have one of these." She picked up an instant package of anmitsu and tossed it to him.

He caught the package with ease and grimaced, "I'm going to shower and wash my clothes, then we're going to the store."

She always showered in the morning, it was how she woke up. "No, you eat that while I shower. Then you can shower and do whatever after."

He looked from the package to her and tossed it on the table. "I'll shower first because it'll only take a minute. Then I'll eat while you shower."

'_Cha! Like _he's_ the boss of me_!' She broadened her shoulders and her hands were evenly placed on her hips. "It's courteous to let the lady go first, plus it's _my_shower!"

"Hmph," he turned in defeat. She smiled and floated to the bathroom, '_that's right! Don't mess with me!_'

* * *

Sakura stepped out of the bathroom and was nearly ran into by Sasuke. She put her hands on his chest to block him and realized it was a little too smooth and warm. She looked down to see his bare skin slide from her fingers as he swiftly squeezed by her. When he was closing the door behind him she realized he wasn't wearing any pants either; just a towel.

She walked in a daze to the couch. It was like there was steam swirling around in her empty head. She was about to lean her weight into the cushion when there was a rapping at the door, so she zombied her way over and opened it without a second thought.

"Hey, Forehead!" Ino stood wearing a grin, "happy to see me?"

"Ino?" Her friend wasn't wearing her usual ponytail, and she was also wearing more make-up than normal. "Why are you here?" Sakura faked a friendly smile, '_If Ino finds out about Sasuke there's no way she'll keep her mouth shut about it_!'

"Pft! Because you need me, Silly! Look at you!" Her arms gestured at her, and Sakura examined herself. "I'm fine, I just got out of the shower. I dont know what you men- mean!"

Ino gave a suspicious look as she pushed passed, "..I told you leaving you alone would help. Never doubt me, Sakura!"

The green eyes rolled as she closed the door, catching a whiff of the strong perfume trail Ino left in her wake. "You're right! I'm perfectly fine now, so you can go back to Shikamaru or something!"

Ino traced her fingers across the plush cushions in the livingroom, "did you sleep on the couch?"

Sakura felt her eyebrow spasm as she turned around to see Sasuke's mess, but instead saw that the blanket and pillow were folded neatly. It even looked like all the pillows had been fluffed up. "Nn-yyess..?"

"Hm." Ino paced the livingroom like she didn't recognize it, when suddenly the background noise cut out with the squeak of a faucet handle. Ino's pale blue eyes screamed at Sakura: 'that's what you're hiding!' She dashed toward the bathroom but Sakura grasped her elbow. "Wait, it's not what you think!"

The bathroom door clicked and she saw it in slow motion as it swung. Ino yanked from Sakura's grip just as Sasuke emerged, wearing the same towel from before. Only this time, he was decorated in water beads. A gleam came off his shoulders from the light bouncing off of the moisture. She couldn't take her eyes off his perfect skin, until she had to blink. Her eyes opened to a gust rolling by, and she realized it was caused from Sasuke's retreat into the laundryroom.

Ino turned on Sakura, "I can't believe this! You're hoarding a boy here?!" Sakura covered her face and groaned, '_It's over, she knows I live with him!_'

"That someone like you could bed Sasuke Uchiha!" She peeped from her hands to see Ino smiling wildly at her, "How did you do it?"

"Ugh, gross!" She threw down her hands, "just because you might do that doesn't mean I would, you pig!"

"Suure, Sakura!" She flitted her fingers in the pink on Sakura's head, "I'll get out of your hair so you can get back to business." She winked and gracefully spun around, her long blonde hair spraying out behind her.

"Wait! Ino!" She sped after her retreating friend, 'There's no way I'd have people believing I'm a tramp!' Ino was walking briskly, confident that she had discovered the secret Sakura was hiding from her.

"Relax, Sakura!" She breezed across the lawn to her car, "I won't tell anyone about you and Sasuke!"

She would've ripped at the blonde ponytail if it had been there, "That's because there's nothing to tell! Listen to me!" Sakura was shut out by the car door.

The window skimmed down, "I'm so proud of you, coming out of your shell! You have to tell me everything later!" Then Ino pulled out of the driveway while she waved. Sakura jogged after the car, "wait, it's not like that!" But Ino pulled away and drove down the street.

Sakura put a hand on her eyes to calm the sprouting rage, '_At least she said she wouldn't tell_.'

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

He moved his clothes into the dryer and started the load. She had taken forever to shower and forever after that to get dressed. Even now he could hear the blow dryer behind the closed door. The upside would be that by the time he got to shower his clothes would be dry, so he could wear more than just a towel.

He looked at the dog that was sitting in the hallway. It kept following him around and would give an unfriendly expression if he approached it. When he reached to pet it the first time it nearly bit his hand off!

They both looked over when the door opened. A warm steam was released from the bathroom into the air conditioned house as Sakura stepped out. He was going to smoothly pass her to get into the bathroom before she saw how much he wasn't wearing, but that weird dog bared it's teeth. He had barely managed not to run into her on his way in. He realized when he closed the door behind him that he could still feel the trails of her fingertips tingling on his chest.

* * *

When he stepped out of the bathroom he was surprised to see two sets of eyes oggling him. '_Is that drool_?' Time to escape before the unthinkable could happen. He practically leaped into the open laundry room and slammed the door behind him. Chatter began on the other side but he couldn't make it out over the dryer. He opened it early to check his clothes and heard ungraceful feet thudding away. Finally he could be clean and no longer exposed.

When he emerged he saw Sakura come in through the front door. "You could've told me your friend was coming over."

"Oh, shut up!" She closed the door and slouched back against it, "I didn't know she was coming, and now she thinks we're sleeping together!" The idea of them being that close forced a laugh from his nostrils.

"What, you think that's funny?" He dropped the damp towel on his dripping hair, "well, yeah. You're not my type."

"Hmph!" She flicked the hair back from her face, "we'll see if you get any supper tonight!"

"Haha, like I would eat you're cooking anyway!" He smoothed the towel around on his head, "the fact that you only have instant food describes how good you are at it." When he moved it back to rest on his shoulders he saw that she was blushing at him; it was kinda cute.

He cleared his throat, "anyway, are you ready?" She sweetly nodded.

* * *

They arrived at the supermarket to see clusters of people in every aisle. The checkouts were piled on in waves.

"Oh, they're really busy. We can always go tomorrow, it's usually slower on Mondays."

He narrowed his eyes at her, then walked ahead. Some herds of people weren't going to stop him from getting sustenance. '_She gives up too easily; definitely not my type_.'

The first stop was the fresh fruits and vegetables section. Sasuke was gathering items in his arms when a metal hatching bumped his hind-quarters. He looked to see that Sakura had fetched a cart for them. "Good, you're not useless." He started placing the vegetables in the cart when it rammed into his leg, "hey!"

"Watch your mouth, Grumpy!" They deeply gazed into eachother's eyes with a mutual discontentment before whipping their heads in opposite directions. After a few seconds of normality, they resumed their shopping. She eyed him as he loaded the cart, "why are there so many tomatoes?"

He sighed, "because they're healthy. Do I have to explain to you why I'm getting cucumbers and green peppers, too?" She tried to ram him again but he anticipated the maneuver and held the cart back. What he didn't expect was how the cart used his grip as a pivot point to veer to the side, cutting off the oncoming patrons.

He felt the metal cage of someone else's groceries collide with his hip and cringed. '_She got me_.' His eyebrow arched at Sakura. He opened his mouth to speak when there was an intruder to his personal space.

"A-are you alright? That girl's recklessness made me twist my cart at the last second!" He looked down at the girl with pleading eyes that were enlarged from her glasses. They were such a light brown that they appeared to be a shade of red, and the red of her hair matched that of an erupting volcano.

"Yeah, don't worry about it..." He looked back to Sakura, who looked annoyed despite having successfully gotten him hit. There came a tap at his arm and he looked back to the small girl as she adjusted her glasses, "I'm really sorry, are you sure you're okay?" She was timidly grabbing his sleeve.

Before he could reply Sakura had a full response out: "Yes, he's fine. It's not like you're shopping cart could seriously damage him. It's a thin standard metal, and this one appears to be combined with plastic aswell: designed to bend when there's too much pressure applied."

The red girl looked as though she had just been slapped, "well it's your fault anyway! You should apologize!" Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose, '_this is gonna get ugly real fast_.' The air was dense between the two women and he easily crept away as they bickered.

* * *

He had just finished stacking canned goods on the pile when Sakura found him again, arms cradling various junk she had found on the way. She dumped the load down into the cart he had taken with him. Finally they were done. His stomach felt as if it was caving in from anticipation and he steered toward the check-out.

"Do you really need tomato soup when you have so many tomatoes already?" He stopped and flicked her forehead, then continued walking.

"Ow..." She silently rubbed her head and followed, then she was even quiet while she was paying for the groceries. '_I'll keep that in mind,_' he snickered to himself.

* * *

**Thanks for all your patience with me!** I know I said I would try to get it up sooner, but I think it ended up being twice as long as a wait.. Again I'm sorry!  
My excuse this time would be the discovery of my very own "Sasuke" (although truth be told he looks more like Naruto). Case in point, my imagination is roaming to him instead of SasuSaku.

Thanks to **Puckabrina NaMi SoMa SasuSaku**, **Raikiri80**, and **LadyMartel4000** for their encouragement!

* * *

**Here's a bonus** (I originally typed it this way but it was easier to put it in Sakura's point of view):  
He looked down at his grumbling stomach and lifted himself from the couch. He breezed into the kitchen and opened the fridge, then scanned the top shelf. There was milk, but he never liked milk much at all. It was too creamy for him.

He searched for any fruits or vegetables, specifically tomatoes. Since he didn't like milk, tomatoes were his main source of calcium. But the fridge was practically empty. 'There must be something healthy in this place!'

He reached the pantry and shuffled through; all baking supplies and weird spices he would never need. Cabinet: a bunch of instant meals like noodles and other Asian dishes.

Cupboard after cupboard he looked through in speed. He found cups and plates and containers but no damn healthy food. He chanced looking under the sink, though he sincerely doubted it.  
At last! Potatoes!

"Sasuke?"


	15. Chapter 15 - Cooldown

"I'll reimburse you for the groceries when I get paid," he said as he brought the last bag inside from the cab. He didn't like being indebted to her, and she hadn't even mentioned rent yet.

"Oh, that's okay! I needed the food anyway." She smiled sweetly at him, so he ignored her as he moved the food into the kitchen. '_She's going to be difficult, isn't she?_' He decided the best course of action would be to shove the money at her when he got paid. It would be harder for her to refuse it then, and a more appropriate time to argue about it.

He gathered up the cans and opened one of the cabinets. He was lifting a can up when she obnoxiously cleared her throat. "Those don't go there." He paused and looked at her, "What does it matter? All the cupboards are empty."

"That's the place meant for baking supplies." He was starting to get really irritated with this woman, thinking she could boss him around. It's not like she was his wife or something. If she wanted them in specific places she would have to put them away herself, instead of standing there watching him.

"Canned goods go in this one," she walked over and opened a nearby cabinet to train him. He smirked mischievously, "not anymore," and started thunking the cans inside. That did it. She immediately rushed over and started yanking them out as if it was some sort of fire hazard.

She awkwardly laughed when the space was empty again, "I'll put the cans away, then… Wanna start on the baking supplies, since you know where they go now?" Fuck that. He went to the bags and started pulling out the vegetables, preparing to make supper instead. She stood there with a blank look on her face, "did you hear me?"

"Yeah, put them away yourself if you care so much. I'm not your slave." From the corner of his eye he saw her hands clench into fists. She then whirled around and started slamming the cans into their "proper place".

He shrugged and grabbed the cutting board and a knife, but when he turned around the carrots were gone. He placed the items down to retrieve the carrots from the fridge, and upon returning discovered that they had also disappeared. He looked to Sakura, but she was dashing about the place like crazy.

He tightly grasped the carrot shoots and eyed her as he retrieved the board and knife again. She was preoccupied with the other groceries, so he peeled the skin off it in peace. It was when he started to chop that it was swiped away from him, "Hey!" He followed the orange stream to the source: Sakura's hand. "I'm trying to make supper here, unless you'd rather starve?!"

"Well maybe if all the groceries were away FIRST then I wouldn't be putting away your things by MISTAKE. Maybe I'd even be able to help you with supper," she dangled the carrot before him, "to achieve comity we must share the workload, y'know."

He thought of Sakura trying to assist him, asking if he needed things and shoving them in his face while he would be doing something else. He leaned a hip into the table, "there's no way you're helping me with supper, you'd just get in my way."

"Despite what you think I'm actually a pretty good cook!" She placed the carrot back on the cutting board with a boastful grin. Sasuke slanted his mouth into a frown and rolled his eyes upward.

"It's true!" He looked at her and raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "That's it, outta my kitchen! I'll prove it to you!" She gripped a hand on her forearm to display her fist to him, the bulging vein on the back of her hand threatening attack.

He dropped his hands into his pockets and waltz out, on the way muttering clearly: "so much for comity." As he turned the corner out of the kitchen there was a rumbling bang that made the dishes jingle from the vibration. He knew it must've been her fist colliding with something, and smirked at how easy it was to get under her skin.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

That smug jerk! Here she was, trying not to argue with him anymore and he sets traps at every turn to egg her on. But once he tasted her amazing dinner, he would treat her differently. '_The best way to a man's heart is through his stomach, right_?'

Sakura knew how to cook many things, actually cooking them was a different matter. Her mother would only bake desserts whenever she was in the kitchen, and would always dismiss Sakura as a distraction. Her father, on the other hand, embraced her curiosity and would pull up a chair for her to stand on and observe when she was too short to see. She had watched him cook many, many times. '_How hard could it be?_' She pushed up her sleeves and got to work.

* * *

The spices in the air tickled at her nose, but the warmth from the steam countered the urge to sneeze it out. "Dinner's ready!"

She heard his footsteps approaching and added the curry to the plate beside the rice. He sat down and she placed it before him. She tried to suppress her nerves, because this was the first time she had cooked for someone else.

He smirked, "well it _looks_ edible." He grabbed up his spoon.

"You're real~ funny," she stated sarcastically as she sat across from him. She firmly watched him as he scooped some up on his spoon, knowing that if he liked it he might express the opposite just to annoy her. As he brought it to his mouth she willed herself not to blink. The concentration almost felt like it was going to bead up on her forehead as sweat. He closed his mouth around the spoon and she narrowed her eyes at him, '_if you spit that out…_'

He removed the spoon clean from his lips, "hn." The corner of his mouth pulled upward; which meant he was about to compliment her, or say something snarky. "Pretty good. Although it's very mild… Can you call this curry?"

She blinked, '_is he critiquing me or insulting my cooking?_' She hadn't considered the option of a snarky compliment. "Of course it's curry, I just don't like spicy food…" To her relief he took another bite. Satisfied that she wasn't covered in her own hard work, she picked up her spoon and began to eat. It tasted just like her dad usually makes, except it was a bit weaker. But she was the chef and they would eat what _she_ wanted to. '_Something sweet would be good for dessert, too. Maybe we can go get ice-cream?_'

She looked at him to see him standing up with his plate, headed to the stove for seconds. She checked her plate and saw that only half of hers was gone, "wow you must've been hungry."

"Still am." At least it wasn't AS snarky. Maybe he was just grumpy when he had an empty belly? "Hey, Sasuke..," he finished scooping the food and turned to face her. "Wanna get some ice-cream after supper?"

He contemplated as he chewed, "sure."

* * *

It was a nice night despite the brisk air, because the stars had also come to greet them. A milky light spilled across the surroundings and created deep shadows that stretched in a single direction.

The ice-cream shop was in sight when Kaiser needed to mark more territory, so they had to stop for him. "Is that it?" Sasuke asked her, and she nodded. The store was only a few blocks from Sakura's house; as kids, her and Ino would always race there and the loser had to buy. It definitely wasn't as fun to go alone after that.

She looked at him when they resumed walking. The starlight smoothed his features and gave him a gentle appearance, and he seemed far more relaxed out here. Maybe he was born during the night, so he felt more comfortable when the sun was gone.

"Ah, miss! What can I get for ya this fine evening? I was about to close up shop because no one wants ice-cream when it's cold."

"Hmmm, I can't decide. What're you getting Sasuke?" He playfully peeked back at him over her shoulder.

"Nothing. I don't like ice-cream." She couldn't help but stare, "then why did you come with me?"

He shirked his shoulders, "it's good to walk after a big meal."

"Oh..," she turned back to the vendor, "I'll just get neapolitan then."

"Sure thing!" He quickly scooped it with the precision of much practice, and handed her the cone. She paid and they continued on their way back home.

"Here, gimme that." Sasuke took Kaiser's leash from her. He may be a rude, and sometimes a jerk, but Sakura decided him to be a good guy in his core.

* * *

**Author's Note**: A nice relaxed chapter for you guys this time. Feel free to let me know your thoughts! :)  
Also I'm thinking about giving titles to my chapters.. I'll be thinkin' about it.

P.S. Thanks to **Puckabrina** for welcoming me to with open arms! Also to **Raikiri80** for saying what I needed to hear! And also a thankyou to my readers that didn't give up on me when I couldn't update as frequently as I used to. 3


	16. Chapter 16 - Tension

Hello! I realize that my last chapter was a bit lacking, but I hope this one will make up for it! It's my longest one yet.

* * *

The rubbery mask that sat in his palms blankly stared up at him. He could see the slits that had been cut into the gentle blue eyes and smile from the likeness of the mayor. Even the shabby blonde hair was careful in every painted strand. "What a joke," he scoffed, as he flipped it open and pulled the face over his.

He noticed a lone teenage girl down below. She had long, dark hair, that was kept out of her face using a bandana. She was wearing jean overalls littered with tools. He shifted his weight to watch the girl closer as she approached the building he was stalking all morning. She carried a bucket, and pulled a squeegee from the side of her pants. She looked too young to have a job cleaning windows by herself.

He grinned and grabbed up his gun, then darted down the nearby fire escape. As he flung himself down the remaining steps he saw his partner already approaching the large glass doors to the bank. It was to be expected, he was younger and sharper from his youth. He ran up to meet his young recruit as they shot down the glass.

The timing couldn't be better: the guards were still adjusting their newly adorned belts from the shift change, and scrambled with panic in the calamity. They reached for their guns and tried to jump into cover, but the boy's eyes and speed were too great. They fell to the ground, one-by-one, crying out in agony as pools off blood seeped from their bullet wounds. "Still alive? You're too soft," then he added in afterthought, "as always." He had seen Haku hit too many targets dead on to think that he had _accidentally_ missed their vital points.

The screams started as people dropped to the floor, desperate for their lives. "Get outta here! All of ya!" They exchange unsure glances between one-another, "get out before I change my mind!" He discharged some rounds into the roof to get the flow going, and soon enough the people tripped over everything during their combined escape.

He saw the manager trying to sneak out through the back in the rush of bodies and sent Haku after him with the flick of his wrist. It was a quick catch, as expected of the kid. With a barrel pointed to his head, Gatou had become quite the talker: "Please! I'll do whatever you want, just don't kill me! Anything! I'll even open the sa—"

"Shut up, old man! Just open the cashes." The stubby man was shoved and shoved until he was behind the counter. He trembled as he lifted the key to the first cash drawer, and like an idiot fumbled it. It fell to the ground with a clank and jingle. He looked for reassurance to grab it. "Hurry up. Unless you want to be filled with lead."

He watched Gatou jump at it in panic, but as he rose became more collected; his hand reaching for the bottom of the counter…

He bashed the gun into the side of Gatou's grey head, and saw him crumple back to the floor. "I should just kill you," he leveled his sight on the pathetic man. "Stop," Haku's small hand moved the scope from Zabuza's eye. He looked to his young partner, annoyed at the interruption. "We'll have more hands if he opens the cashes for us," the young voice explained behind the hard white mask with slits for eyes and two painted red lines across it.

"Fine, we'll do this your way." He turned his plastic face back to Gatou. "One last chance. If you screw it up, I'll enjoy painting the walls with your **brain matter**." He cocked his gun for effect, which put the small man in motion. He scrambled up from the floor, drenched in sweat, and wheezed as he opened the remaining cashes for them.

Haku lifted the trays from the registers and dumped them into the bag while Zabuza maintained aim on the small manager. When the last tray dropped on the floor with a clatter, he grinned down at Gatou. "See ya."

They ran out over the glass shards as quickly as they had entered, filtering through different back alleyways. They grazed by others that had taken part in the scheme, joined only for a moment before parting ways again; each mind remembering the practiced routes to separate getaway cars. The added confusion of the power outage adding to their escapes.

* * *

Zabuza was the last to meet up back at the base. He saw the underground team had succeeded in navigating through the secret sewer route, found from ancient blueprints of the city. The entire collection of the safe contents was on display before them.

The liquor was already flowing to commemorate the success of the robbery. The distraction had worked perfectly! Thus far, everyone still believed it was only the cashes that had been robbed. But even as they poured him a glass with a smile, he could taste the same bitterness that was coursing through them all: the money had to be returned to the investors before it could be divvied up amoung their lower rung.

They did all the work, but might only get a couple thousand to their names. However, the important thing was that they were all alive. Alive and free. The extra measures were necessary when it meant that they could actually spend their share.

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Sakura scratched her head with the end of the pen as she bit her lip. The answer to "twenty-three, DOWN" was on the tip of her tongue. '_Ah-ha_!' She moved the pen to the white blocks and was about to write when a scuff drew her attention.

She looked to see Sasuke standing in the hallway, buttoning up his work shirt. She couldn't help but notice how the dark shirt accented his pale skin, and how the fabric displayed how smooth it is in comparison. A small smile grew on her lips, '_if Ino saw that she'd have a fit_!'

He walked to the kitchen. He had nice, tall legs, but they moved so stiffly. She watched until he disappeared into the next room. She wasn't sure why, but just being around him made her a happier person. As long as he was by her side, she felt she could do anything.

She looked back to her crossword and replayed the mental image of him putting on his shirt. She scaled up to his face to see a smirk, and his eyes assessing her. He walked, and as he turned to enter the kitchen he glanced back with that same smugness as before.

She felt her cheeks start to flare and shoved her face into the plush cushions. '_He just watched me check him out_!' She imagined what she must have looked like with her greedy eyes staring at his chest, then ass, and let out a groan.

"Something wrong?" Sasuke called. She pictured him grinning and holding back his laughter. "I, uh, just can't figure out this word!" She pounded her head against the couch. '_Stupid, stupid_!'

"What is it?" She narrowed her eyes, '_asking for proof, huh? You smug, hot jerk_…' She cleared her throat, "nevermind, I got it!"

"Okay, well I'm off." He put on his shoes and went out the door. She uttered "bye" before it closed. The air immediately felt colder without his presence. She had been spoiled from spending all of Sunday with him. Sakura looked around the quiet house, expecting to see something, but saw nothing. Everything was in place, and the only movement was Kaiser napping under the coffee table.

She looked at the blank tv screen and contemplated turning it on, but decided against it. The sun shining in through the windows was calling her.

* * *

Sakura walked in the door to the ice-cream parlour to discover that she could barely fit; the line was so long. She sighed, but was thankful she had decided to let Kaiser sleep at home. Ever since last night she had a larger craving for ice-cream, and he wasn't patient enough to stand still when there was walking to be done. Actually, to her surprise, the line was moving really quickly.

There was an extra person behind the counter today, someone she didn't recognize. He had shiny black hair that was evenly cut around his head and VERY large eyebrows. She squinted at them, hoping that it was some trick of the light, or maybe that there were _actual_ caterpillars on his face instead. But when he raised them at her, she knew with a shudder that they were real. How could he stand it? She had been blessed with light hair and didn't have to worry too much about plucking, but she would rather draw hers on every morning if she looked like he did.

Her turn arrived and Chouji smiled familiarly, "hey Sakura. What'll it be?" The new guy literally jumped in, "Sakura?! Is that really you?" They both looked at him awkwardly, "sorry, do I know you?"

"Chief speaks really highly of his best customers." Chouji and Sakura exchanged a look at the make-belief title given to the owner, Chouji's father, Chouza. But the guy didn't notice and kept talking, "I didn't think you'd be such a lovely bloom! Seeing how much ice-cream you've eaten over the years…"

"Oh," she giggled, "thankyou."

"I'm Lee!" He swung his arm over the sneeze-guard and reached out his hand. She took it, "pleased to meet you," and flashed the pleasant greeting smile that had been forced on her as a child by her mother. His whole body seemed to stiffen. "…Ice-cream. Free ice-cream! Of course for one of our best customers, it's on me!" He whipped his hand back to gesture a thumb toward himself.

"Oh," she glanced at Chouji, who wasn't protesting, "sure, thanks!" She pointed out the ones she wanted and he stabbed at it with the scoop, but not with nearly as much care as the others. However, it was in her hand before she knew it. "Wow, such speed."

"Yes! I have been working on that technique all day!" He grinned brightly at her.

"You've really perfected it, then." She looked down at the cone, tempted to chomp right into it.

"I still have a long way to go before I am a master like the Chief!" He shone a thumbs up.

"Hehe, well it was nice meeting you Lee. Thanks again for the ice-cream," she raised it up as a farewell gesture. "Seeyou, Chouji." She gave them a final wave before stepping outside. '_Take that, Ino! You're not the only one who gets free things for being beautiful_!'

The wind had grown cold while she was inside, and she regretted not bringing a sweater as it breezed through her thin layer of clothes. Shorts and a tanktop was a bad idea, and goosebumps prickled up on her skin. She jogged the rest of the way home, careful not to drop her ice-cream on the way.

When she opened the door she found a disgruntled dog sitting stiffly before her. "Ah, you're awake now." He snorted and walked away from her. "Oh, come on! I'll give you some ice-cream?" His ear twitched at that. "That's right, come here." He sat in place, but kept an eye on her. "Fine, I'll walk you when I'm done. We can go visit Sasuke." Kaiser wagged his tail and trotted over to her, eyeing her barely eaten cone. She pulled a piece off and dropped it uncaringly to the floor, knowing that she wouldn't have such freedom if her parents were around. '_That's right… Parents. What happened to Sasuke's parents_?' Good thing she would be visiting him soon, the thought was already beginning to nag her.

* * *

It was swarmed in the mall, too. Unfortunately she had to tie Kaiser to a pole outside as she quickly ran in to see if Sasuke had a break coming up soon. "I don't get a break today, just go home."

"Why not? Isn't that illegal?" He looked at her, trying to convey a message with those dark eyes that she couldn't quite grasp. "..Nevermind, it doesn't matter." She had to fight for space along the counter by Sasuke, "Yes it does, you—"

"It's none of your business so just go home!" He turned away from her to the next person in line, "what do you want?" The man looked aghast at having been brought into the fight, "uh, medium coffee I guess."

He turned his back to her. "Sasuke," he didn't even flinch at her saying his name, "Sasuke?" She stared into the black spikes covering the back of his head as he poured the coffee, but he didn't turn.

She scoffed and smacked her hands down on the counter, "fine!" She whipped around and thundered passed the line of people, not caring that most turned their heads to watch her.

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It was uncharacteristically busy for a Monday, the noise was flooding the store and making his head pound. "You can't just leave milk on the counter, it's a health code violation," Kabuto shook his head as he shoved the milk back into the fridge.

"I need three medium lattés," ordered Sasuke, as he returned changed to the patron. His words smugly trying to demonstrate that putting the milk away was pointless in this scenario.

"Don't look at _me_, I'm too busy baking things in the kitchen." Sasuke glared at him, "if you're so busy in the kitchen then why are you out here telling me everything I'm apparently doing wrong?"

"And the tables are filthy! I honestly don't know why you still work here." Kabuto shoved his glasses up further on his face before returning to the kitchen, content with having made Sasuke's day worse.

Sasuke got started on the lattés, and the girls who had ordered them were giggling to eachother. Soon their giggles turned into whispers, and then grew into normal conversation. "Oh yeah? I heard that Hana lost her power today too." The girls grabbed their drinks and made their way to the nearest table. Their voices still carrying, "the power is only out downtown. I wonder why?"

'_People have nothing better to do than come to the mall in the middle of the day when the electricity goes out_?' He turned to the next guy, but saw a pink head bob its way up around the crowd. "Hey," Sakura said as she reached the counter, "when's your break?"

"I don't get a break today." He felt his duty to serve customers weigh on his shoulders as a few more people added on to the end of the line. He looked at the guy, but he was content in checking out Sakura's legs. "Just go home," he added.

"Why not? Isn't that illegal?" Why couldn't she just obey? Since she was looking for an argument it would be impossible to tell her that there was no way Kabuto would cover his break. Especially with the amount of customers here. "..Nevermind, it doesn't matter."

The guy moved himself closer to Sakura and Sasuke could feel the hair on his neck prickle up. She pushed him from her personal space, "yes it does, you—"

The guy bounced his eyebrows at Sasuke, and Sakura was stressing him out with her pointless argument. "It's none of your business so just go home!" He whipped to the prick in front and snapped out his words, "what do you want?"

The guy raised his hands in defence, "uh, medium coffee I guess." He turned around and thunked the cup on the counter. "Sasuke..," came Sakura's soft voice. He snatched the pot from the burner and poured the coffee in. "Sasuke?" She asked again, but he was way too pissed to restrain his words if he spoke to her.

He heard her utter a noise of submission. His ear twitched at the flat noise of skin hitting the counter-top. She yelled "fine!" He turned around and gave the jerk his coffee as he watched Sakura storm out.

* * *

He decided that he needed to pump out his frustration in the form of sweat. Healthy sweat from exercise in the fresh air, as opposed to the frantic sweat from being a one-man army at work.

It was getting dark outside, but instead of cutting the highway, he decided to go on the overpass. He ran around the corner leading onto it and discovered a cluster of people approaching. Sasuke leapt onto the barrier that divided the sidewalk from the road, his feet nearly slipping off the rough curves of the stone. They were old barriers; worn away by weather and, well, people running on them.

He dashed by the group with ease. Many of them gaped, some of them scoffed, and even a few of them clapped. He smirked at his deserved praise, it was harder than it looked to keep his balance. He pushed off from the gritty block and saw the sidewalk pass beneath him before landing on the adjacent green. The grass slid him forward down the slope as it tore from the ground, attached to the rubber footing of his sneakers. After cruising the slippery grass, he began to hop down in large strides.

An iron-wrought fence was fast approaching, and he used the momentum from the hill to jump higher. He grasped the top links and was able to pull himself over quickly, then drop firmly on the other side.

* * *

He arrived at Sakura's quicker than he thought he would. As he made his way to the front door his stomach began to grumble, '_worked up more than a sweat_.'

He dug out the travel mug in his bag before going inside. He saw that Sakura was sitting on the couch and watching television as he took off his shoes. The concentration in her eyes depicting her desire to ignore him. He sighed and walked over to her, unsure why he cared that she was upset with him.

He set down the travel mug on the table before her, "here." She eyed it, but still didn't look at him. "It's tea," he walked toward the hall, "dump it if you don't want it. I'll be in the shower."

He went into the bathroom unsure if she would drink it or not. Chances are she would selfishly chug the peace offering and still be angry with him afterwords. It seemed that women were always trouble, holding grudges that started over nothing. He rubbed his face and sighed before starting the shower.

* * *

Hello everyone! As always, thanks for reading! Next chapter will probably be a shorter one and I'll try to have it up sooner.

Feel free to let me know what you think of recent developments ;)


	17. Chapter 17 - Change of Heart

"Here," he placed a travel mug before her and the liquid inside sloshed. "It's tea," he moved away from her space. She looked at it with her arms crossed over her chest. "Dump it if you don't want it," he continued as he walked away, "I'll be in the shower." The conversation was finalized by the sound of the bathroom door closing.

She swung her leg over her knee and bounced her elevated foot. Should she bother drinking it? Why had he brought it? '_If he meant it as an apology he could've just said "sorry"_.' She thought about how he had very obviously ignored her when she popped in to see him at work, and couldn't stop steaming over it. It just burned her up to think that she went all that way to get brushed off uncaringly.

She uncrossed her limbs and snatched up the mug as she stood. '_Screw this! He said to dump it and I will_!" She marched over to the kitchen sink and tore off the lid, then began to tip it when the freshly released steam reached her nostrils. It smelled good, nice and calming. She looked into the cup and took in stronger whiff, "ahhh..."

'_Maybe I should just drink it? He did go through the trouble of making it for me_.' She sipped in some of the thin, hot liquid, and her eyes grew wide. Her mouth tingled from the strong taste of the green tea leaves, sweetened up by the sugar in the honey. It was the **perfect** amount of honey. '_He must have paid close attention when I made my tea to know_...' Such a small gesture showed his care and dedication; it betrayed his manly reputation to show he really had a heart of gold! Much like how her senses had betrayed her decision to dump the tea. There was no way she wouldn't be able to drink it now.

She took a big swig, and felt the warmth slowly travel down her throat and heat up her chest. '_He's probably hungry after such a long shift, with no break_...' Her eye slowly wandered around the kitchen, then she immediately grabbed pots and pans to start cooking supper for the two of them.

* * *

She had chosen something easy that didn't take much time to prepare. His shower took much longer than it did yesterday, and the food was ready by the time he emerged from the bathroom.

"Just in time, Sasuke!" She looked out of the kitchen to see him enter the livingroom. "Supper's readyy~," she smiled, then hopped back into the kitchen to set the table. He appeared in the entryway soon after.

"So," she sat in the wooden chair, "how was work?" He stopped in mid-sit across from her to give her a warning look, "don't even ask."

"Okay, fair enough... I hope you're hungry!" He nodded and plunked down, then began to scoop food into his mouth.

"Thanks for the tea," she squeezed out another smile to him. He looked up from his plate to give a partial shrug, then continued to eat. He was stuffing his face pretty heartily. "Hehe, you don't have to eat so fast! It'll still be there after you take time to breathe!" He glanced up, face unchanging and dull. When she got nervous from her lame joke and looked down, he resumed.

"Want anything to drink?" He roughly grunted, his fork clinking against the glass plate. '_Oh. I guess that's a "no"_.' She thought about asking about his parents, but if he couldn't dignify these tiny questions with a response then there was no hope for one so big. If she asked he'd probably seize his plate and run away.

"Hey, let's watch a movie tonight!" His shoulders hunched down and he exhaled through his nose before he raised his eyes back to hers. He was practically pouting, and she was noticing the scraggy way his hair was drying. Her shoulders rose to her neck and she spoke timidly, "do you want to?" She was unaware that she was gently biting her lower lip until his eyebrows lowered while he watched her. She brought a concerned hand to her mouth and tried to maintain eye contact. The suspense making her heart beat faster...

He shrugged and scooped up the last few bites of food remaining on his plate. Her shoulders dropped, as well as her eyelids and temperature. '_He still doesn't have the good grace to open his mouth_?'

He went to the stove, but she had evenly dispersed the food between them. "Hm," his eye carelessly sneaked over to her practically-full plate. She suppressed a laugh, "can you help me finish mine?" His response was a quick reaction of lowering his plate in range of hers. She happily scooped some of her portions sloppily to his plate, and he was so grateful that he didn't bother to sit back down before delving into it.

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He watched her slide the disk into the dvd player. She turned her hunched back to view him, "do you want any popcorn?" He shook his head, "do you always ask so many questions? It's annoying." For some reason his blunt words forced her to break into a smile, so he raised an eyebrow.

"So it does talk!" She explained as she stood. She giggled into her hand as she passed him to get to the couch. "Hmph." He watched her make herself comfortable on what was considered to be his bed, she even draped his blanket over her legs.

That reminded him that he still hadn't paid her, and he wasn't a freeloader. "How much rent do you want from me?" Sakura's head suddenly flung in his direction, "oh. Don't worry about it, seriously!" He pulled his head back with a twinge. "My parents pay for everything," she responded, "so I don't need - or want - your money."

"I don't like being indebted to people. How much." He rooted his feet and gave her a stern look. She scrunched back into the cushion, "I've got no reason to take your money..."

"I'm renting your space, and I will pay for it." His hand firmly rested on his hip as he looked down on her. He wouldn't allow her to let herself be taken advantage of. '_Dumb girl_...' his eyes narrowed.

"That's not necessary, Sasuke. You're sleeping on my couch, not renting a room from me. Besides... I like your company." She stared directly into his eyes, meaning to demonstrate that there was no way he could pay her. She had a gentle smile equipped, and he could only stare at her perplexedly before flinging his head aside, "tch! I get paid on Wednesday. I will pay you what I owe and then move to a new place." His eye traveled back to her to see what retort she would come up with this time.

The glow from the television illuminated her eyes as they widened, making them appear lighter than they were. Her mouth also hung ajar for a moment or two, before she regained her composure with a forced smile. "Oh, hush. Come sit with me!"

Her green eyes were sparkling up at him and he mused that this was another of her difficult moments. The kind where she wouldn't dare hear of another option than the one she'd decided on. No amount of diplomacy could alter her closed mind afterwards. He sighed through his nose, still knowing that she wouldn't get out of this deal without some compensation for her trouble.

She wriggled her shoulders, "are you going to watch this movie with me or continue to stand there and stare?" He flicked out of his daze and moved beside her. As he sank into the couch he felt the contrast between the temperature of the fabric to the heat that had built up around her.

The only thing she had expressed want of was his company, so until he had money it would be polite to oblige. She didn't have to offer her home, and without her he'd probably be wearing a snakeskin dress complete with a wig by now. The thought made him cringe and he took in a deep breath to blow the thought away.

A sweet scent tingled in his nostrils on the intake. '_Must be her perfume_...' It was pleasant; not too strong, and he found himself eased by the scent. It felt like it had been forever since he smelled the soft aroma of a woman in the comforts of his home. In fact, he recognized it as almost the exact vanilla scent his mother used to wear.

He watched her from the corner of his eye, and his sight traced her outline: the flick of her nose, the bumps of her lips, the firm and unwavering jaw. A slender neck followed, that smoothed into her collarbone. Further down, some humble lumps were hidden beneath her shirt. His eyes lingered for a moment before he turned them away to his palm. When he realized the calculation taking place he brought it to his face.

Her head leaned over curiously, "headache?" It wasn't a total lie, so he meekly nodded and uttered "ah.." She hovered for a few moments, but then accepted that she wasn't going to get a further reply and eased herself down.

"Oh!" She shot back up with excitement littering her face, "did you hear?"

He removed the hand from his face and turned to her. "about the bank heist this morning," she explained with her head on a tilt, "it was on the news." He realized that he was admiring her pale face as she spoke, free from any imperfection or blemish, and shook his head. '_Is something different about her today? Or is it something wrong with me_?'

"Well, what happened was there were two groups. The first group robbed the registers, but it was merely a distraction for the second group to empty the safe. Crazy, right?" She tried to laugh it off, but she was tense.

"That's why the power was out," he mumbled. The crime had escalated so quickly, and a bank robbery meant that it was more organized as well. Apparently his connection didn't make her feel better. Her expression faded, "mm..."

"But the police or the task force will catch them soon. There's no way that they'll get away with that much money, banks have marked bills these days." Being the son of a police chief had its perks.

"That's true," the tension eased from her face and changed into a smile. He was starting to feel like maybe he wasn't so bad at being someone's companion. The ending of the beginning previews drew their attention to the screen. They watched it as casually as people who had been friends for years, making fun of decisions made by the characters and inputting many other judgements.

* * *

**A/N**: Thanks for all the support! I am very happy that some of you subscribed and favourited me, it seriously makes my day! :)

* * *

Raikiri, you were VERY close! Although, she did end up chugging it in the end, haha. And so true about Lee! Somehow I didn't think about that when I wrote it O.o

Thanks, LadyMartel :)

And Uchiha Brothers Lover, you are very right. There's actually a little twist with that I am excited to share when the time comes ;) Hopefully it still comes as a surprise.


	18. Chapter 18 - 'nori'-straints

Sasuke phased from sleep to hear a high-pitched chirping on the other side of the glass door, then opened his eyes a sliver to peer outside; too comfortable to gain control of his body just yet. There was a bird feeder he hadn't noticed before, encircled by three little fluffballs hopping on twig-legs. The scene was painted a shade of blue from the sun beginning its rise up into the sky.

Sasuke's first instinct was to pull up the covers, close his eyes, and go back into the serenity of sleep... An urge he warred against by ripping off his blanket and exposing his body to the cold air, making his skin prickle into many tiny bumps. He swung his legs over the couch and rubbed his face to be functional again. Working a closing shift, followed by an awkward movie, and then being scheduled to open wasn't the best thing for his sleep pattern.

'_Well, the movie itself wasn't awkward... The questions that she needed to bombard me with after were what made it awkward_.' Where was he supposed to go? They were sitting on his bed. Although he did manage to get to the bathroom, and was surprised to see when he returned that she had actually gotten the hint. '_Well, not so much "gotten the hint" as actually listened_.' He pushed a finger at his temple, deciding that he clearly needed to be more awake if he was arguing with himself.

He rose with a grumble and made his way to the kitchen, still rubbing small chunks of sleep from his eye. The dog was in the hall, ears fully erect as it watched him pass. If he moved in that direction the thing would bare its teeth, as if Sasuke had malicious intent of some sort. He still didn't know what he had done to make the animal so hostile toward him, but shrugged it off in his morning grunge as he went to the fridge.

He decided to make riceballs for lunch; it was his favorite food, and not just for the taste. It was the first thing that he could do that Itachi could not. Itachi never really liked cooking at all, so when he wasn't paying attention to the lesson, Sasuke was listening intently to their mother. His small arms could barely reach over the counter, but he still managed to make a lumpy ball of rice around a mini-tomato. Itachi just put his in a bowl and ate it, claiming that it was the method he ate them anyway. To this day, Sasuke still found himself grinning childishly at the small fact that he accomplished something his genius brother could not (nevermind the possibility that Itachi probably let him have that victory).

He came back out of his daze to see he was done. He had made some for Sakura too, so she wouldn't change her mind about his living here. He really had nowhere else to go, and maybe, just maybe, he wanted to do something nice because she said she liked his company. It _kinda_ felt nice to have someone that cared he was around.

He placed the extras he had made onto a plate and saran wrapped it, then set it in the fridge. ..It looked too blank, '_Oh wait. She's such an airhead that she'll need a note in order to eat it_.' He scrambled up a pen and tore off a piece of paper from the magnetic notepad on the fridge door:  
"Sakura, this food is for you.  
Don't worry, it's edible.  
- Sasuke."

Short, to the point, and topped with wit; just like how he always dealt with her. He shoved his portions in his bag and dusted off his hands. After slinging the bag over his shoulder, he took off for work out the front door.

* * *

An elder man approached the counter, then looked down beside him, "what would you like, Konohamaru?"

The brown spikes from the boy's ponytail turned as he looked to his grandpa, "I want a smoothie! A large one!" A tiny 'thwack' was heard from Konohamaru's sandal smacking the tile.

"A large one?" This man seemed to have some sense, unlike so many other guardians that didn't question what their brats wanted. "A large one is way too big for you, small is fine. Now, what kind would you like?"

"I want a LARGE strawberry-banana!" Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose, resisting the urge to hit the kid that he still couldn't see fully beneath the counter-ledge (except for his spiked hair and the goofy helmet he was wearing). The grandfather sighed, "alright, but you have to drink it all."

"I wiill, I will! Hurry up, old man!" This time there was no surpressing Sasuke's death glare down at the child, which he leaned over the edge to deliver properly. If he had a grandfather, he certainly wouldn't boss him around and call him "old man". The kid caught the glare straight on. His mouth stretched down as his eyes narrowed, seemingly filling with water. He then hid behind his grandpa, on the verge of wetting himself. Despite his best efforts to hide, his excessively long blue scarf gave him away. The "old man" took this chance to order, "just a medium smoothie," he spoke quietly over the counter, "and a small coffee please."

Sasuke rang him through and got started on the smoothie as the man paid with his VISA, then left it to blend for the twenty seconds as he turned and poured the coffee. When he turned back around, he saw the little brat: craning over the table-top of the bar, prying at the rubber cover of the still running blender.

What happened next was an explosion of partially blended pink slush. It splattered the kid's face, Sasuke's chest, all the surrounding counters; everywhere! A mischievous grin grew from one ear to the other on that stupid little urchin's dripping-pink head. The sides of Sasuke's vision became clouded by red as his body heat escalated, and he lunged.

The little bastard dropped onto the floor and took off laughing. Sasuke cracked his knuckles, then started pursuit by flinging himself over the counter with ease. He caught up quickly with the advantage of longer legs, and stretched out his arm to grab the bright yellow shirt. If there was one thing to be said, it was that this child had an odd sense of style. Konohamaru twirled his shirt free from Sasuke's fingers and dove underneath a table, no longer laughing.

Sasuke went down on his hands and knees to go after him, "ugh, get back here you little snot." He turned to look back at Sasuke, and for a moment seemed he would obey, but instead pulled his eyelid down and stuck out his tongue before crawling to the otherside.

Sasuke growled as he followed, fully aware of the unintentional entertainment he was providing to the nearby people. '_Trouble-making must be his favorite hobby_,' he couldn't help but notice, from way the boy continued to avoid him. But as he ran, Sasuke knew the one thing he didn't account for: that dastardly long scarf. He slammed his foot down on the traitorous fabric that trailed behind, and was immensely pleased by the gagging noise that escaped the kid's throat.

Konahamaru looked up the see the red-eyed devil had captured him, and began to cry.

* * *

The stupid brat wouldn't stop his wailing until there was another smoothie in his hands, so Sasuke begrudgingly made it. Finally the kid was gone and his loud and obnoxious crying had cleared everyone else from the store.

It took Sasuke a full ten minutes to clean up the counters, mop up the floor, and clean the blender machine. Not to mention wipe the slush from his shirt, although that didn't stop it from behaving like it was made from cardboard. He put the blender back on its stand and placed his hands on his hips with a fulfilled "huff".

That's when he heard it: the slosh from above him that splatted directly on his head, still cold. More pink splashed before him on the counters that had been _shining_ a second before... "**FUCK!**"

Kabuto emerged from his backroom and hitched a thumb over his shoulder, "out."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

His weight pressed into her and she felt like she was frozen stiff. She couldn't escape his greedy fingers as they helped themselves to her flesh, his mask stretching from his greasy smile beneath it..

Sakura woke with a start and immediately brushed herself off with jagged slapping motions. Once she realized she was safe and alone in her bed, the pounding against her ribs felt foolish, as well as the deep breaths she was taking to calm her nerves. These dreams were the worst, and she had forgotten about them. Actually she had almost forgot that it even happened, like it was a nightmare all on its own. The thought made her shudder.

She got out of bed and roamed to the livingroom, desiring the security of company. She peeked over the couch, but the sleeping form was Kaiser instead. "Hey, boy..," she pet his head, and his reply was a low rumble as he woke. She drew back her hand, '_that's strange_...' He then looked up at her, and was instantly happy! He wagged up a storm with his body as he climbed the couch to lick her. She giggled and stroked his sides, "alright, just a bit!"

_*thunk*_

Her eyes darted to the front door, a familiar pounding returned to her chest. '_What if my dream was an omen that he's coming back_?' She slowly approached the door, leaving Kaiser on the couch. The knob rattled as it was turned back and forth by the invisible hand.

"H-hello?" She held her hands over her chest as her shoulders scrunched up, confident that it was the imposter from before.

"It's me," she jumped at the muffled male voice that answered, "open the door!" It could very well be Sasuke, but if it wasn't... She peeked through the adjacent window and saw the familiar face, and clicked the lock open.

"I told you it was me, you didn't have to check." He pulled a hand from his pocket to push the door closed.

"Yes I did! 'Me' could've been anyone! Especially if they were pretending to be you to get inside." She crossed her arms, starting to wonder if she should tell him the reason for her paranoioa.

He scoffed, "what, like a parrot?" Then shook his head as he walked by, "at least I know to avoid your place if I need to quickly escape something."

"Yeah, you could always go to your own place for that." She smirked over her shoulder at him, and he tried to hide a laugh under his breath. She always felt better when he accepted something she said or did; so much so that it made any argument worth it.

"Pinky," his tone declaring a subject change, "I need clothes. Do you have something I could wear?"

"Yknow, I have just the thing!" She darted down the hall back to her room, thinking that he'd look fantastic in pink. She grabbed the smooth fabric from her closet and ran back to him, then held it up for him to see as its length swayed by her ankles.

There was silence as he processed her request, "no damn way. Get something else." He looked down at her patiently, his order given.

"Come on, Sasuke! I know it'll fit you, and you'd look positively _dazzling_!" She stretched her smile in an attempt to win him over, and pushed the dress toward him.

He felt the fabric between his fingers, "y'know..." Her eyes sparkled with the image of them dressing up and dancing together... "This fabric could easily be torn apart and BURNED," he smirked malevolently, his face conveniently angled to cover his eyes in shadow from his bangs. She immediately stole the dress away from him and ran it back to her room, '_point: taken_.'

When she returned she found him in the kitchen, some riceballs before him. "Oh, did you get paid then?"

He was about to take a bite and turned to look at her instead, "what?" She found it pretty obvious (every store in town sold riceballs) and just raised her eyebrows at the food.

"You've got to be kidding. I made these, I even left some in the fridge for you this morning." He bit off a corner of the triangle as he stared at her. She shrugged back at him, "oh yeah, like I'll believe that!" Then travelled to the fridge to disprove him, and when she opened it saw a cutely wrapped bundled inside that had a note with her name on it. She pulled it out, then placed it on the table and planted her fists to her hips as she stared at them.

He had a smug look on his face. Something about it made her blood boil, "hah, nice try, Sasuke." She threw him a smug look of her own, "buying them at the store and making it LOOK like you made them!"

"What the hell? Why is it so hard for you to believe that I made something so simple?" The chair groaned against the floor as he stood.

Sakura shrugged, "I dunno," she waved a nonchalant hand about, "maybe because the one time you were going to cook you tricked ME into doing it!"

"Oh, you'd like to think that wouldn't you? I didn't trick you into anything, you practically threw me out of 'your' kitchen when I was trying to." He crossed his arms, apparently not hungry anymore.

"Well," she dramatically aimed her finger at him, "then you should prove you can cook by doing it tonight!" Sakura would never admit it, but she was running low on recipes and knew he would call her on it if she made the same thing twice.

A low rumble sounded from his throat, "I have a better idea." He smiled at her so purely that she couldn't repress her own smile from boiling over.

* * *

"Like _this_?"

"Haha, no, how did you even do that?" He took the glump of sticky rice away from her and threw it back in the pot. She frowned down at her messy fingers, "you said this was simple!"

Again he laughed at her, "I didn't take you for a simpleton!"

"Hey, I am _not_!" She bumped his hands and his perfect triangle went soaring over their heads. He whipped around and flung himself onto the table, stretching out, and it unbelievably landed intact in his hand. He turned back as he sat up, wiggling his prize at her.

"That was amazing! Do it again!" She leaped toward his hands, and he twisted away. "No! Get back you wasteful girl!"

She froze, then eased herself back and pouted, "how am I wasteful? I don't mean to be..," her eyes gradually became more watery as she looked down.

He arched an eyebrow at her sudden switch of personality, slowly leaning forward. He clearly didn't know how to console a woman, not taking back a word he had said. '_Good, then he won't see _this_ coming_!' She flung her arm out and successfully hit his cupped hands, and this time there was no saving the poor white riceball as it fell to a splattery doom on the floor beside them.

He turned back to her and stared, dismayed. She grinned and stepped back cautiously, then dug her right hand into the pot for a warm and squishy weapon.

"Ah-ah!" He flung himself off the table and grasped her devious wrist, "wasteful!" She struggled to pull her hand free, giggling. His grip was firm, "wasteful Pinky!"

She stopped and stared at him, "you did NOT just call me PINKY!" She shoved him, then stretched her left hand over their arms and grabbed more rice. His attempt to block her recoil caused it to fling from her hand and splatter against his face with a satisfying squish. He did not look amused, and holding back her laughter was a pure agony that brought _real_ tears to her eyes.

His mouth slanted as he glared at her, because she wasn't even close to doing a good job. A loud "HA!" would escape her mouth every few seconds, and his glare was making it worse. It was only a matter of time before the buildup burst from her lips and she had to wrap her arm around her ribs. The more she tried to stop, the harder it became, until she gave into the laughter that squeezed out of her chest and stomach. Her face was beginning to sting from the smile that stretched it, and she stopped to take in a few breaths-cut short by another onslaught of cackles. She couldn't even stand straight and was bend over her arm, thankful that Sasuke still had her wrist because otherwise she would be on the floor.

There was a firm placement on the back of her head that squashed into her hair, and was further rubbed around by none other than Sasuke. The warmth from the rice spread onto her skin quickly afterward. She whipped her head back up, "are you crazy?! That'll take me forever to get out!" Even now she could feel the extra weight clinging to the strands at the back. He only grinned down at her, apparently feeling very accomplished that he just ruined her hair.

"That's it!" She once again tore her arm over to grab from the pot, but he grabbed that wrist too. '_Uh oh_,' she tried to brake free but knew it was futile. He had easily held her through her laughing fit and it seemed that now he was going to make her pay.

He pulled her right arm to the left, and her left arm to the right, successfully trapping them against her collarbone. "Ugh, hey! Let me go!" He didn't abide, only making it worse by bending the right arm at the elbow over her left one.

She rested her head against her shoulder and looked at him pleadingly, "please don't do this..." Then he released his grip from her left arm. '_No way, that actually worked_?!' She flung her left arm about, but found with despair that it was pinned in her right arm. She shot him a stinging glare.

"What, you thought I believed that lame attempt at vulnerability? Don't worry, I'll make this quick." He reached his hand into the pot, pulling out a massive, white, sticky glob.

"No, no, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She flung about like a fish out of water, not wanting to feel the warm pasty substance being plastered on her again.

"Hey, hey! Be careful!" She didn't heed him, knowing it to be a trick. The second she stopped moving would be the very same second that her face would be splattered in white goo. She felt the grasp return on her left wrist as she was being pushed backward. Then her arms were untangled, but only to have her hands pushes behind her it seemed. '_I'm not giving up, you won't win this one_!' She kicked her legs at him, "let me go!" It was bittersweet, but she realized that she was smiling. '_I must be crazy to be enjoying this_!'

Her leg connected with his knee, which wasn't where she was aiming, but the "ouch" he uttered made it good enough. She felt a gust go by as she was forced into the corner of the counters. "Not good enough!" She headbutted him, still grinning despite the pain that tingled on her head from bashing it into his.

"Ow! That's it!" He pulled her arms up above her and she felt her torso stretch, also noticing for the first time the extra heat that wasn't coming from _her_. He was only an inch from pressing up against her as he struggled with her hands, and as she stared at him she forgot to struggle further. Despite how angry he had sounded, he was also smiling. And it was a beautiful smile, especially combined with the focus in his eyes.

Then suddenly, their focus switched to her. Those alluring dark eyes that were brought out more by his pallid complexion. They were mysterious and swirling, but had a bright twinkle within them. She realized hazily that they were like small black holes, drawing her in through the space between them. As she slowly leaned forward, her mind rang: '_I'm gonna do it; I'm going to kiss Sasuke_.'

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**A/N: This chapter was NOT friendly to me at all. I had lots of ideas for it, but they wouldn't fit together... So I had to change some of the original plans (for the better it seems). Then when I finally got it to fit, it wasn't even, and I had to do some more edits. Fussy, fussy chapter. :/**

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To Raikiri: Thanks for your input! It's right on the money!

LadyMartel: :D

Puckabrina: I'm really glad you loved them! :) I've been thinking a lot about your review this time as I did assign the girl in ch16 a character, and even though it was minor you picked up on it. Very impressive! We'll have to see if she appears later because this story likes to jerk me around apparently lol

Kloradori: I love this review! I always have to restrain myself when it comes to Sasuke's manners because he really doesn't have any, and you seem to have as much fun reading the different points of view as I do writing them :)

**What on earth would I do without you guys? Probably just give up! I enjoy your comments a lot and I thank you for sticking with me. I'll be trying to get the next one up sooner (but I make no promises because I will be moving soon). 3**


	19. Chapter 19 - Park

Sasuke restrained her arms as she fidgeted before him, when she stopped in mid-step. '_What's going on? Is this a ploy or is she actually hurt_?' She wasn't the type to just give in on a whim, and when he looked into her eyes it was clear that she was doing no such thing. There was a new intent broiling in those shining green eyes; a new goal. He turned his sights down and saw the approaching pink lips that teased at him with a pucker. How easy it would be to just lean forward and press his lips onto hers, and hold her body how he wanted from his power over her. This was _real_ vulnerability.

He drew his eyes back up to hers and the lively leafy color shocked him into envisioning a field; a meadow of luscious green where a fresh wind breezed about him. He felt the substantial weight lift from him, and allow him to run again. Run through this field with the wind, able to smile. The feeling of true freedom, however fleeting, was enough to make him decide to kiss her. He puckered his lips and squeezed his eyes closed, leaning in. The contortion of his face making him feel somewhat foolish, but the gap was closing quickly between them.

The creak as the front door opened plummeted the weight back on, '_what was I thinking? This is the real world; I will never be free. My family will always haunt my steps_.' He released the girl and turned to greet the person at the door. It was Sakura's blonde friend (who apparently had nowhere else to go, and no manners.) "Don't you knock?"

"Oh, sorry, was I interrupting?" She stuck her tongue out at him with a wink. "I just wanted to see how my girl was doing." She kicked off her shoes, then slipped by him to reach the still puckering Sakura, who was currently trying to blink her way back into reality.

Ino leaned to Sakura's ear, and Sasuke's ears twitched at the attempt to hear the words, but there was too much pressure in his head to focus on something so minuscule. He looked into the stainless steel fridge beside him and saw the red that was blurred across his face. '_I'm blushing?! I need to get out of here_.' He shuffled his shoes on and began a steady jog out the still-open door, pulling it closed behind him.

"What the hell is wrong with me? I can't just go around kissing people!" He sighed, knowing that he had vastly exaggerated. What he wanted from that kiss was just to have a normal life, and the everday teenage choices that came with it. How naive, to be carried away by emotion.

For the first time in a long while, he found himself actually wanting to see his old home. He was beginning to miss his family more than ever, but he knew that the house would be far more empty than it ever was before.

"Sasuke, wait!" He abided Sakura's call and stopped. She jogged up behind him and took a moment to regain her breath before speaking, "where are you going?"

He shrugged, "anywhere." He looked off into the distance where he had been heading, and decided a subject change would be well suited. His head whipped back to face her, "wanna get some icecream?"

She stared at him curiously, "sure."

* * *

"Ah, Sakura! Welcome back," waved the guy on the other side of the counter, with brown scraggily hair and a fat face. There was another guy with black bug eyes and hair, completing the look with incredibly thick eyebrows and an unnaturally red face. He looked worse than Naruto.

Sasuke looked at her, "how often do you come here?" She just laughed and fanned a hand at him, apparently too embarrassed to say.

She approached the counter, "hi Lee, Chouji." Sasuke brushed a finger accross his eyebrow, '_she knows their names when they don't wear nametags_…' She didn't even order when "Lee" handed her a cone, and she passed the change over in silence from apparently having remembered the prices. He smiled and shook his head, '_now I know why her house was so void of food_.'

Sakura returned to him, "let's go." Sasuke looked back at the guys: The one with the black bowl-cut seemed to be crying, and the other was shaking already back to work. So Sasuke followed her back out into the sun.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

_Ino whispered in her ear, "in the kitchen, Sakura? A bit risqué don't you think?"_

_With her final preparing blink, Sasuke disappeared from the kitchen with the whoosh that came from the closing door. She immediatley rounded on Ino, "are you crazy?! You have the worst timing EVER!" Ino narrowed her eyes in return. Clearly she wasn't understanding the gravity of the situation, "I was about to kiss him, or he was about to kiss _me_, and you scared him off!" _

_"You expect me to believe you've never kissed him before? Ha! I practically walked in on you guys in the shower before remember?" She nonchalantly stared at her manicured nails._

_"That's not what happened at all! Ugh!" She threw her arms down and gripped her fists, wishing she could shake the nonsense out of that blonde head. '_I don't have time for this, I have to catch Sasuke_,' she dashed around Ino and slipped into her flip-flops before tearing open the front door and continuing outside. Sasuke was still in sight and she ran after him, hearing Ino calling after her. Sakura smirked at the rebellious feeling, and also the nostalgia from the times she would ran from her mother._

Whatever. Sakura didn't really care if she was mad at her, Ino had asked for it. Who barges in unannounced to ruin the moment and then proceed to give unwanted advice anyway? '_Nosey PIGS! That's who_!' There was no way she was going back _there_ anytime soon.

She glanced from her icecream to Sasuke, who was travelling back to the house. "Wait! We should go to the park instead."

"The park?" He raised an incredulous eyebrow to her, "the type with slides, swings, and junglegyms?"

"Of course!" She narrowed her eyes, "is there something wrong with that?"

His hands made an appearance from his pockets to make a full-gestered shrug, "figures. I grew out of those long-ago; they're for children."

"You don't know what you're talking about, you need them the most when you're a teenager!" She stared down at the cone between her hands, "whenever I get too sick of my mom judging me, and my dad making jokes at my expense while he sits on the sidelines, I go to the park." She could feel the seriousness of his eyes fall on her and continued, "it's a good way to cool off after a fight, y'know?"

He looked away from her. It quickly became too quiet as they turned around, and there was still some ground to cover, so Sakura decided to fill the void by telling him of the arguments she had had with her mom before. They didn't seem as bad when she was recalling them, but at the time they were horrible (however, some of the arguments still made her steam).

* * *

Fortunately the playground was empty when they got there, despite the cloudless blue sky.

Sakura went straight for the swings and sat on the suspended plastic as she finished up her icecream. Sasuke, seemingly effortlessly, leaned against the metal pole of the swing-set. '_He's just too cool_!' She planted her toes in the dirt and twisted the swing left and right as she stared at him.

"My mother is dead," all her movements haulted, and she gaped at him. He kept looking into the dirt, "…And my father," he choked out a laugh, "I can only assume he is." The silence crept along, becoming thicker with each second it consumed. '_He doesn't have parents! My troubles must seem so petty to him!_' Her mouth twitched at the need to say something combined with the mass amount of words that seemed to evaporate from existence, until it finally grasped hold of something: "I'm sorry."

"Pft, doesn't matter. Sorry doesn't bring them back." Somehow he was wearing a smirk, when he should really be crying. He grabbed the chain to the swing beside her and heavily plopped into it.

"I—uh, the reason that I'm so paranoid with the door is..," he was watching her, '_I didn't think It'd be so hard to say_.' She roughly swallowed, "is because I was almost raped." She heard the chains rattle as he inched closer, "wait, in your own house?" Sakura slowly nodded, instantly glad she had decided to share. She told him how it happened, and he nodded his understanding. Unlike Ino, he didn't suggest for her to call the cops and instead stayed silent.

After swinging for a while, they travelled around the park, using all of the equipment in turn as they went. Sakura would spout a sentence every now and then, and sometimes he would reply, but it seemed that sharing time was over no matter how much she tried to pry.

She admired his figure against the orange sky as he flung himself across the monkey bars, doing the "oh-so-impressive" skip two bars. Being a kid was so simple, it's a wonder why everything had to change.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

A familiar pair of eyes looked on from the back alleys at the scene playing out before them. The modestly fair angel with shining skin and shimmering pink locks, eating icecream with a cursed creature who was bland in every way. Why she had chosen this drop-out over himself, he still couldn't understand.

He looked at the bandage wrapped around his hand, mangled from the dog's teeth. It was the motivation of his failure, and he knew he would wear it until he she accepted his love. With a new approach, and once Sasuke was out of the picture, her defences would crumble and she would be his.

He followed them discretely, always keeping to the shadows. Wishing he had his father's gun while he watched them being friendly in the park. Fortunately they didn't touch, because he wasn't sure how he would react seeing his love being physical with another man. He crept along as they walked back to the Haruno house, only leaving shortly after they turned out the lights to signal sleep.

* * *

**Agh, moving.. -.o But I'm back! I already have a pretty good start on the next chapter (it's gonna be a biggie for sure), let's just hope that it fits together as well as I think it will. When you write fragments and try to piece them together, they don't always agree. Anywho, thanks for reading!**

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Raikiri80: You were right! Am I that predictable? Hahahaha

LadyMartel4000: Thankeee!


	20. Chapter 20 - WHY

'_I get paid today_' was ringing in Sasuke's mind as he walked in through the back entrance of Café OhLala. There was a warm smell of melting berries quickly spreading through the store, and he peeked through the glass to see a pie in the industrial oven. The normal varieties of pie were apple, lemon meringue, and strawberry rhubarb. Of course in the fall there would be pumpkin, but never berry. At least not that he knew of, having worked here for less than a year.

His fingers fumbled with the knot behind his back as he passed the billboard that the paychecks were normally tacked to, but so far it was empty. He twisted the knot into view and finished tying it, then looked up to see Orochimaru's back. His boss was wearing a suit and business skirt, complete with a bun in his hair. There were some small strands of black that hung in her face for style, no doubt. He/She was finishing up the brew for the final pot of coffee, "ah, Sasuke. Good to see you again."

"You've got the checks ready?" Sasuke asked. Orochimaru didn't usually make an appearance unless something was wrong. "About that, my little Sasuke, my money was in the bank."

So the tradition held. "'_Was_' in the bank," Sasuke stated. '_He'd better not say what I think he's going to_...'

"I'm afraid so. I can't pay you today. But as a token of my thanks for working so hard, you get a free slice of my new pie!" Orochimaru spread his arms wide as if this were some major accomplishment.

Sasuke's eyes tightened, "no, I'll have my money instead."

He sighed, "now, Sasuke... I don't have your money today-" Sasuke stepped forward, "just pay me out of the till, I need it!"

Orochimaru cleared his throat, "I don't have your money today.., but if you were the one to test my pie first, I'd likely remember to tell you when I have enough money for the paychecks. But I'm just getting older and older these days, so it might just slip my mind!" The master of blackmail was at it again and Sasuke couldn't bear to look at him anymore, "fine I'll eat your stupid pie."

Orochimaru plunked a hand down on Sasuke's shoulder, "that's my boy." Sasuke could only scoff, queuing Orochimaru's leave. His long fingers ruffed through Sasuke's hair as he walked by, the clacking of his heels echoing through the silence as he moved toward the kitchen. "Oh!" He stopped suddenly and leaned back to view Sasuke, "and start taking in some resumes."

"Resumes?" Sasuke turned, "is Hinata quitting?" Orochimaru's thin painted lips stretched into a smile before he continued walking out of sight.

* * *

"You heard the boss, Sasuke." Kabuto jabbed the fork into the top of the pie, and the blood-red jelly seeped through the top of the pie around the metal prods of the utensil. He then handed the glass plate to Sasuke, "it's your break so you'd best enjoy it." Kabuto gestured to the side booths left of the cash register, "sit right over there where I can see you eat it." He adjusted his glasses affirmatively.

Sasuke walked away from the counter and plucked the fork out of the pie. There appeared to be some flour from the top crust still on the silver (as well as the berry goop), and he could tell that the starch was going to disagree with him already. '_They're being really touchy over this new recipe_...' He slid into his seat and grimaced at the thought that he had nothing better to eat. Today was a shorter shift than normal, only 5 hours, so he hadn't even expected a break at all. '_I couldn't have packed something if I wanted to from how late I slept in_.' The fact that he even slept in to begin with made it an odd day, followed by running to work in the rain, and now being forced to eat dessert; dessert for breakfast. He stopped jabbing the fork into the slice and the thick goo inside seeped onto the plate.

A feminine figure slid in the opposite side of the booth, "Hey Sasuke," she chirped. His response was a grumble. Couldn't she just leave him alone? "Pie, huh?" The tall blonde leaned forward curiously.

"Hn," he stabbed the fork into the pie and tore off a piece, avoiding eye contact with Temari, and took a bite. It was so sweet that it was practically sour.

"Well? How is it?" She slouched back, apparently making herself comfortable. Her red shirt had a broad neck that hung off her shoulders instead of her collarbone; exposing a fair amount of skin, and she had a grey scarf twisted around her neck. He scrunched his eyebrows as he looked at her, then swallowed. "it's too sweet."

"Yeah, I didn't think you were the dessert type. I have a brother who loves them." She tapped at the table with her finger, and he noticed the black leather gloves she was wearing for the first time. The fingers cut off at the second knuckle, and weren't simply for casual wear by the look of them. "See what you were looking for?" She sounded offended, but was smirking at him.

"Nice gloves," he said as he looked back up at her. '_She's so vain_.'

"Oh," she said dishearteningly. "They're for my bike. I had to run a few errands today, mostly for my brother actually." Sasuke severed off a piece of the pie and shoved it in his mouth, unconcerned. "Speaking of which..," Temari added, "I'd better get going." She squeezed back out of the stall and picked up the leather jacket she had thrown down beside her. "See you," she shot him a wink as she waved, and then left as quickly as she arrived.

'_Brother, huh_?' He forced down some more pie. '_Would my brother have liked this pie_?' Judging from the memories he had of Itachi stopping at the pastry shop once a week on his way from school, as well as sitting with their mother at the dining table gobbling down her freshly baked sweets with tea every so often, Sasuke had to assume he would have. The imaginary smell of his mother's baking combined with hearing their voices nonchalantly chatting twisted his stomach in knots and tied his throat shut.

He stared down at the pie and slowly pulled another bite towards him, instantly causing the knot in his stomach to try jumping into his throat. Sasuke shook his head and looked over at Kabuto, who was thankfully busy, and discreetly scooped the rest of the pie into the garbage before returning to work.

* * *

He couldn't wait to be out of this place and burst through the back door. Everything was gloomy out here; the temperature was chilly and the sun was nowhere to be seen, casting a grey light everywhere. But at least the rain had stopped.

He started his jaunt toward the highway and his eyes quickly felt like they were being burned by the wind and began to water as he ran. '_Damn, I can't see_.' Sasuke raised his hand to wipe away the extraa-"a-aaah!" His shoes squeaked against the polished grass as he glided briskly forward. His upper body couldn't keep up with the speed at which his feet were sliding, and he prepped himself mentally for the impact on his back-when the rubber soles caught at once, flinging him forward into the air.

The draft was icy as it blew by him and his flailing arms. He managed to rip his eyes open enough to see the highway looming directly in his path. He crashed down on the hill and began his uncontrollable tumbling descent.

The pavement would flash a warning that it was fast approaching him between the vision of grass and sky, and his clothes quickly became soaked from the green blades he bounded through. Then his body flung out at the road, his life soon to be at the mercy of the approaching cars. '_That might be okay_,' his voice echoed in his head. His smiling family would be waiting on the other side. A picture of pink blinded his mind's eye and his nostalgia took a moment to catch up, '_Sakura! She's alone like me, she needs me_!' He swung his head about looking for something to grasp and saw a cluster of branches to his right. Grasping the cold spindly arm of the bush he pulled himself toward it with all his might, effectively dragging himself into the thorny grey shrub with snaps and crinkles galore.

He took a moment to catch his breath before prying himself from the pointed foliage edges that hooked themselves into his skin and clothes. "Ow," he muttered, but it seemed hollow when compared to the alternative.

He crawled up the small ascent to the highway and waited for the remaining cars to rush by him. There were no more cars in sight, so he began walking across while rubbing his arm. '_I'm gonna be sore tomorrow_...' The blaring of a horn ripped him from his casuality. "I-Impossible!" The headlights were blinding as they shone on him.

* * *

_"Hey! Sasuke!"_

_He turned to see Itachi's friend running toward him, his black curls bouncing with every step. "Shisui?" Trying to discern the reason for Shisui being at his high school, he offered the answer to the most probable question: "I don't know where Itachi is."_

_He looked confused for a second, "oh, that's okay! Actually little buddy, I came to talk to you! Mind if I walk with you?" Sasuke glanced off to the small woods he was planning to dash through today and shrugged, "sure."_

_The moment they started moving so did Shisui's mouth. "So, did you hear yet? About your brother?" Sasuke shook his head, and Shisui continued, "he got accepted to Harvard! I mean, I didn't get in, but it's great news for him!" He smiled down at Sasuke, "don'tch'a think?"_

_"Yeah," he stated dumbly. All he could think of was the look of expectance he would get from his father later. He started to walk faster, not wanting to be part of this conversation anymore._

_"Say, we don't talk much. Tell me about what's going on with you!" He put his hands in his pockets. Sasuke shrugged again, "just living up to bone-crushing expectations."_

_"Ah yes," his eyes were on the clouds in the sky as his spoke, "Itachi's a good guy, but he doesn't realize how his genius affects us all."_

_"No, he realizes." Shisui turned to watched him speak, but it wasn't from surprise. All humor was gone from his face. "He just can't stop, he has to challenge himself," Sasuke thought of the downhill slope coupled with evergreens he wanted to race through that they had already passed._

_"Yeah. I suppose you're right," Shisui smiled back up at the clouds. Sasuke watched his feet._

_"Oh shoot!" Shisui jumped and looked at his watch. "I forgot! I have a date to get to tonight! You can make it the rest of the way yourself, eh?" Sasuke raised his eyebrow and nodded, "it's just a couple of blocks. And since when were you escorting me home safely?" Shisui laughed, "sorry! I've been walking too many girls home lately! Speaking of girls.., seeya!" He flashed a toothy grin while waving and sped across the street._

_Sasuke shoved his hands in his pockets, 'g_reat. Another expectation for me reach. Something that even Shisui couldn't do_.' Shishui and Itachi had always been neck-and-neck equals, meaning this school had ridiculously high standards for its students. What did that mean for him? An impossible obstacle. He was already struggling to fill itachi's footprints. He had to stop playing basketball to keep up with his grades and do well in soccer and archery. Basketball took place too many times a week. Itachi also had a girlfriend in high school! Impossible._

_He saw his house, and the family gathered on the front lawn. '_No doubt celebrating the good news_.' However he couldn't hear what they were saying over a buzzing noise in the distance. He was walking over to them when the buzzing became a loud vrooming as it rounded the corner._

_Sasuke was in midstep when it carreigned toward him. His heart caught in his chest and he felt the impact with his ribs. There was an odd noise that followed, a noise similar to when you drop a garbage bag in a puddle._

_Sasuke's head thudded against the pavement. A warm moist spread through his shirt, but he felt no pain. '_Am I dead_?' _  
_He heard screaming, '_mom_?' Sasuke gently opened his eyes and saw the front bumper of the white car leering over him, some fresh red splattered in decoration._

_He felt a weight on top of him and tried to move from under it. He looked down, expecting to see the metal of the car digging into him, but instead saw his brother's limp form._

* * *

Sasuke's scream melted into blaring of the horn.

The car swerved around him a second from collision, dragging a force of wind with it that nearly knocked him over. He looked back at the car as he stumbled across the roadway, and saw it swivel to regain control.

Sasuke landed on his hands and knees in the grass, feeling his heart hammering against his chest, and his lungs beginning to burn. 'Wait, am I breathing?' He drew his attention to throat, clogged by his tongue, 'no!' Sasuke sucked in air with a great wheeze that expanded his torso, then forced its way back out through coughing.

He stayed there frozen, waiting for the world to sink back into him to regain his awareness. "How did I not see that stupid car?" He pushed himself off the ground and stood up straight. A pulse shot up from the pit of his stomach, and there was no preventing the vomit that shot out of his mouth soon after. He groaned as he wiped the drool from his lips, then stepped over the mess and forced himself to walk. '_I want to go home_,' he thought helplessly, '_can I just be home_?'

The sporadic high pitched noise jumbled her to a seating position from her slumber, still clinging onto her blanket. "Uh, what?"

Sakura turned her head to the clock beside her bed: 2am, the red lights appeared to be dancing at her misery. How tempted she was to rip it from the wall and fling it across the room, or perhaps out the window. '_Who the hell calls this early_?! _Cha_!' Grasping a hefty fist she wrenched up the phone in her other palm, "who is this and what do you want!" The response was a gruff voice that was barely above a whisper, "Sakura, it's me."

"Oh! Dad!" She bit her lip, '_maybe I shouldn't have jumped the gun_... _I should've known from the time difference that they'd call me at odd hours_.' She brushed some hair back from her face, "how's mom?"

"I don't have time for that now. We checked the account and saw it was empty. Listen, I can get you more money but we have to act fast. I'll put some more in but you have to withdraw it before your mom can see it, okay? She doesn't want me to send you any more so you'll learn some responsibility, but a young girl needs to spend!"

"R-Really?! Thank-you Daddy! I'll go get it right away!" Sakura looked out the window through the space between the curtains and saw it: the downpour of rain. "Uh, actually it's still mor-" The click on the other side signalized the conversations end, "-ning..." Sakura hung up the phone and sighed. '_I still have some time before mom will check again. She won't check twice in one day, right_?'

Sakura plunked her head back into her pillow and drew the blanket up to her ears, feeling the warmth encase her as the pitter-patter of the rain eased her back off to sleep.

* * *

Sakura opened the closet and began digging though the mess she had left for herself. After a couple minutes of tossing things aside, she found a purple top. It was a lavender shade t-shirt with a v-neck and net sleeves that hooked onto her thumbs. She looked down at her bare collarbone, '_I need a necklace_'. The red and white symbol flashed into her mind, '_that's right_... _Since I gave it back to him I haven't seen him wear it_.' Her mind filled with the intoxicating confidence that had came with the necklace before, and ran to the livingroom before she could stop herself. _'He doesn't have any bags, so maybe his pockets_?' Upon looking at the couch, she remembered that he only had the one set of clothes. "Darn..." She searched under the strewn blanket and then beneath the couch cushions, but there was nothing.

Sakura hung her head in defeat, then sighed and began to straighten out the couch. She folded the blanket into a neat square, '_the one day he wears it is the one day I wanted to_...' Her hands began to flush the cushions as they had seen her mother do countless times, then they traveled to the pillow.

She lifted it up, but the pillowcase was weighed down to a point at the bottom by something small. "Ah! No way!" She dug her hand in and grasped the familiar cold metal and yanked it out. She stared at it with a growing smile, "YES!" Throwing the pillow back down carelessly, she ran back to her room to finish getting dressed.

* * *

Sakura looked up at the analogue clock, '_11am, I hope I'm not too late_.'

"Hello, how are you today?" The girl behind the counter was lightly smiling. She was wearing a blue pantsuit with a white blouse beneath, and a purple ribbon was tied neatly into a bow at her neck. Her dark hair was well passed her shoulders and held back with a purple band.

"I'm good!" Sakura rushed to the counter produced her card from her purse, "my dad just sent me some extra money because he saw that I ran out, even though my mom didn't want him to, so I have to withdraw all of it now before she sees."

"Oh, that's... Great." She had a slanted smile that twitched in the corner. 'Why is this girl so familiar?' Sakura pondered. She appeared to be around the same age as she was, maybe a couple years older, do maybe they were in the same school at some point. 'That's not it, it's like I've talked to her before...' Sakura smiled, being consumed by the familiarity, "yeah it's pretty great of him to send me money when they're on vacation!"

The girl's smile completely faded this time, "absolutely fantastic..." She counted out the money for Sakura, but there was a pause before she handed it over. "Thankyou..," Sakura checked the nameplate on the counter, "Kin!"

She didn't looked amused in the slightest, "yup. Have a good day." Kin then proceeded to plant a "next wicket open" sign between the two of them and walk away.

Sakura packed her things away and began heading home. '_Why did I say all that? It's not like she needed to know that my dad's spoiling me_.' She opened the door and saw that it was still drizzling outside, feeling a pang of regret that she had forgotten her umbrella at home in her rush to catch the bus on time.

'I'll catch a bus at the station. The fastest way would be...' She looked behind her and saw an alley beside the bank, then proceeded to walk through it. It was dark and gloomy, and the rain still managed to drip into the small space. She stepped out on the other side, 'there. Just a couple more blocks left, now.'

When she continued walking, she was tempted to walk through the other alleys. They were faster, and by all means dryer, but she kept to the sidewalk. There was always something sketchy about alleyways, 'maybe it's all the abandoned garbage that no one thinks to clean.' Oddly enough that bank teller's face popped into mind. '_What's her story? Why is she so sad_?'

A dark figure appeared before her, "hand over all your cash!" The voice was deep, but oddly feminine. The way the clothes hung off the body also said it was a woman. Sakura looked into the eyes of the mugger, '_no way! It's her_!' Even beneath that mask she could tell it was Kin. It was all in those dark eyes. '_That's it! The eyes! Her eyes are like Sasuke's_...'

Sakura frowned, "what are you doing?"

"What am I doing? Man, you're dumb; I'm robbing you." The steel of the blade in Kin's hand had raindrops beading on it.

Sakura looked around as far as she could without turning her head, but saw no one. Apparently people didn't take leisurely strolls in the rain. She looked at her assailant head on. '_There's no one to save me this time, not Kaiser; not Ino; not Sasuke, it's all on me_.' This time would be different, she was prepared to defend herself and not be the pathetically helpless girl she was before.

"Hurry up and get your money, skank!" Her stance was more aggressive as she jumped the blade closer to Sakura.

"Okay, the insults are unnecessary," she slowly grabbed her purse, and slower even as she reached inside to grab her wallet. She couldn't afford to give this girl all of her money when her and Sasuke were depending on it. '_Wait, Sasuke gets paid today so_-'

"I said hurry, retard!" Sakura flung the purse at Kin's face, and charged up in the blind spot as it flew in the air. The second she caught the bag, Sakura planted a fist into her gut. "Ow, you little bitch!"

As she held her stomach Sakura made a break for it, wallet in hand. '_Fence, fence, fence... There_!' She had never felt such energy as the kind that propelled her down the alley and over the chain-link fence, but she knew it was the adrenaline. Sakura landed on her haunches and looked back for the mysterious girl behind the diamonds, but she wasn't there.

Sakura looked ahead of her and saw the main street in view, with the bus station across from it. She fixed her appearance and stepped out of the darkness as the sun broke out through the rainclouds.

* * *

Sakura pulled the chord signalling her stop. She didn't think punching that girl would make her hand sore, even if a few of her knuckles had cracked when she did so. The bus slowed and pulled to the side before stopping. She walked off the bus, still flexing her hand. It was odd that it hurt, because it looked the same as always.

The doors of the bus clinked as they closed. The large engine loudened back up as the bus picked up its normal speed. The length dragged behind it and she looked up from her hand to watch it. It was easy to forget how large it was when you were a passenger.

With the bus gone she could see her house from here, but there was something about it that was odd. "..Kaiser?" She began to jog closer, wondering if it really was her dog that was sitting peacefully on the front lawn with no tether. The shape of him made it impossible to deny, and her legs propelled her faster, "Kaiser!"

She could feel the pavement beneath her shoes as she crossed the road, 'to think that a bus drove by! He could have been hit if he ran-' Sakura haulted at the edge of the sidewalk, and Kaiser closed the gap between them. She numbly felt his tongue on her fingers as she stared at her home. The door was wide open, 'that's impossible, though. It opens inward so the weight of the door itself must be enough to close it, right?' Her eyes trailed downward as she inched closer to the anomaly.

Her heart skipped a beat when her eyes found the figure drooped in the doorway, "Sa-Sasuke!" She arrived at his side in a second. "Sasuke!" She planted her hands on his back and forcefully shook him, "please wake up!"

His eyelids parted and she heaved a sigh of relief, "are you alright? What happened?" She could picture the intruder clubbing him across the back of the head, and she sunk her fingers into his hair to search for a bump.

"Uh, yea... I think I fainted," he slowly eased himself up and she used her hands to steady him as he sat back.

"Well, what did you eat today?" He was silent, so that meant nothing. "No wonder! Come on," she swung his arm over her shoulder and began to stand. He was slow, but followed her lead as she gently walked him over to the couch.

Kaiser had followed her inside, so she quickly closed the door and locked it behind them. Upon returning to Sasuke, she noticed all the red lines across his arms, "what are these scratches from?"

"I fell..." Sakura crossed her arms in response, "obviously. I found you in the doorway, remember?" His expression didn't change, so she figured he must still be dazed from having fainted. "Here," she placed her hands on his shoulders, "just lie down, okay? I'll fix you something to eat."

He exhaled as he nodded, and his warm breath landed directly on her face. She winced slightly, but surprisingly it smelled very sweet. "Are you sure you didn't eat anything today, Sasuke?" But he simply thumped on his pillow and curled up into a ball.

Sakura smiled, then leaned in close and gave him a kiss on his forehead. She then stood up and brought her fingers to her mouth, not only in reflection on what she had done, but also because the heat from his forehead had nearly burned her lips.

"You've got a fever, I'll have to disinfect those scratches." His reply was an inaudible mumble. She stared at him for a moment, and then pulled his blanket up to his chin and went to the kitchen.

'_Making a meal, that's easy_.' Opening the freezer she found the necessary ingredients all in one box, just add heat. She removed the cardboard packaging and tossed it in the microwave for the necessary time and then sped off to the bathroom to grab the ointment.

"Okay, Sasuke," she spoke out as she walked back from the kitchen, "unfortunately you can't rest yet." His head turned up to see her, and she saw he was paler and could barely keep his eyes open.

"I'm sorry..," she squeezed the medication from the bottle and smeared it first on the cuts to his face. His handsome features would twist and contort in the opposite direction from the sting until he gave in and merely squinted. The ointment had a strong smell that almost made her eyes water, so she was impressed that his weren't.

She covered her hands with it and spread it into his scalp, and then patted his head. "Time to take off the blanket." He grumbled, and she was surprised that he actually sat up. "Feeling better already?" She smiled. He looked her dead in the eye, "no."

"Ahhh, sorry. It won't be much longer," she made quick work of the cuts of his arms, "now, where else are you scratched?"

"Pretty much everywhere... It was a big bush." She gulped, "everywhere?" He solemnly nodded.

"Oh, okay..." Sakura felt her face growing red, but knew it must be done. "Then take off your clothes."

He narrowed his eyes at her and leaned forward. '_Intimidating me won't work in this situation, pal_!' She was gearing for a struggle, but then his hands grasped the back up his shirt and pulled it up off his head. His arms then dropped to his sides and his head lolled back.

"Okay," she readied more gel on her finger when his hands reached his belt buckle. Her eyes widened as he pulled the strap loose from the metal, then started to grasp the button on his pants. Sakura was suddenly very aware on how loudly she was breathing, and how she couldn't draw her eyes away from the prying of the button and lowering of the fly. When his white boxers were revealed and stood out against his tight skin, she was aware of how close to him she was, and how very thin the material was. He leaned back into the couch and lifted his hips, hooking his thumbs on the rim of his pants. '_Maybe I have a fever, too_..,' she held her flaming face, and contently watched as he began to slide the black pants downn those long leeeggssss...

**BEEP! BEEP! BEEEEP!**

She jumped and whipped her head around, '_oh right, the microwave_.' When she looked back, Sasuke already had his pants around his ankles and his underwear covered by his blanket. She sighed and tossed the squeeze bottle in his lap, "be right back."

She forced herself to her feet and slumped her way back to the microwave. Then she opened the door and glared at the steaming plastic dish inside, wanting to force all the blame onto it for what she had missed, but it was her that had started making it in the first place. Nevertheless, she ripped out and grasped a fork in her other hand.

Upon returning to the livingroom, she saw Sasuke applying the gel to the scratches on his chest. "AAA-!" His head flicked up at her, "-aahh..," she cleared her throat. '_That's supposed to be my job_!' Once again she turned a hateful eye to the food in her hand, wishing it had melted into nothing in the microwave instead of being perfectly cooked to spite her.

'_It can still be fixed_!' She quickly stepped back to him, "here, Sasuke, let me." He simply shrugged, "I got it." Her face tightened, but she forced it into a smiling one, "But I can do that while you eat!" She felt a glimmer in her eye from her cleverness as he looked at her and accepted the food.

She happily took the medication back in her hands and continued to apply it. "I already did that part, Sakura." She looked at him and saw he was blushing, making her blush more ferociously. "Oh," she grinned gleefully to herself, '_I get to touch him all I want_!'

She was applying some gel to his knee when he began to tremble, '_is he cold_?' The temperature on her fingers told her otherwise. She looked up at him, and he was staring at his food. He removed the fork from his lips, "I can't eat anymore."

She took the food from him, and saw that he didn't even eat half of it. "..Alright. I'm going to go shower, you just get some rest okay?"

He nodded and immediately slumped back down on the couch. She frowned and pulled his blanket over him again.

* * *

**A/N: Thankyou everyone for reading again and I'd love to know your thoughts! Again it turned out differently than I imagined, especially with Kin's appearance for Sakura's P.O.V.  
**

**I actually thought of making this one larger, but have decided it's better served being split. I wish I had the next one written up already, but unfortunately I don't.**

**For my responses to your comments at the end of each chapter, is that something you'd like for me to keep doing? Because I can see how it would be intimidating. Let me know. PM me if you don't want to comment an answer.**

* * *

itunesaddiction: I'm so glad that you find it gripping! I know that the pace is a bit slow sometimes from being limited on the points of views, so that's something I'm always worried about!

kim: Thankyou! I wish I could promise faster updates but I fear I would crumble beneath them, haha!

LadyMartel4000: YOU'RE cool :)

Raikiri80: Hahahaha, you have a very good point! And thankyou, I've been trying to add in more interaction between them in order for them to grow closer. :D

NaRcIsSiStIcAlLy In LoVe: Thanks for your reviews! I can tell how emotional you are in them and I'm glad my story can get you so excited! Keep 'em comin'! XD


	21. Chapter 21

She closed the door, feeling immense guilt pooling in her stomach. '_Should I really be leaving him alone right now? He seemed so different_...' To think that the Sasuke from a few nights ago; that scarfed down everything on his plate, and half of hers, and the Sasuke from tonight; that barely ate even HALF a meal, were the same person.

'_Hopefully that ointment will help him out with that fever_... _Wait_!' She twisted the door handle, '_I didn't put the blanket back on him_!' Upon cracking the door open, the memory returned to her with a pang, '_yes, I did_.' She shut it again, '_what am I thinking_?'

She sighed and pulled off her shirt, then carefully unclasped the safety pin for the necklace, '_and it's odd that he was shivering when his skin was so warm... No, stop it, Sakura_. _The faster you shower the faster you can go check on him, now stop worrying about it_.' She quickly flung off her remaining clothes and stepped into the shower, drawing the curtain across as she did so.

"Okay, time to wash off this day." Was it bad karma, or something? Getting woken up at 2, then the attempted mugging, and now Sasuke was apparently sick. '_With this luck I didn't get the money out in time, either_.' Maybe she'd call her dad when she was done, just to check.

Sakura twisted the knobs and pulled the tab, shooting the spray of warm water upon her. She turned up the hot water, desiring it to soak away all her thoughts; or at least wash away her stress. '_Those scratches... What if Sasuke had been_-"

"SHREE"  
went the shower curtain as it was pulled open, and she twirled around to see HIM, and shrieked. "SASUKE?!" Trying to cover your wet parts with only two slippery arms proved to be quite a task: she covered her breasts, then remembered down below and flung an arm to block it. After that, her incredibly small boob somehow managed to pop out over her arm. She finally noticed the shower curtain and dragged it to shield her from his blank staring. "What are you DOING?!"

"Uh-I, uh..," he blinked at her and brought his hand to his face as if his head ached, "you, uh, just screamed, didn't you?"

"No, I did NOT SCREAM! You're the worst peeper EVER! GET OUUUUUUTTTT!" She screamed out, with all the air in her lungs. The nerve of him to come in here when she was showering! She grasped the closest bottle and whipped it at him, "E-yah!" Sasuke flung a hand up to block it, then looked wide-eyed at her, "but-!" She grabbed the next one on the shelf, the conditioner, "OUT!" -clunk-! Then the next without delay, the body wash, "OUT!" -clunk-! '_How many times do I need to say it_?!' The shaving cream was next, and she hurled it at him good, "OUUTT!"

"Fine! Fine!" Sasuke dropped the curtain and ducked out sight. She looked down and saw the last one remaining: the small bottle of face wash, and pitched it at the entrance wishing for one last hit. It clunked against the doorframe, which reminded her... "AND SHUT THE DOOR!"

"ALRIGHT!" Then Sasuke slammed the door as loud as he had yelled. Apparently fate wanted her to see him _before_ her shower was over. Sakura covered her face, '_why did he do that?! He saw me naked_!' Was it revenge for her telling him to take off his clothes? No.., he had said something about screaming, right? "Aghhh, I don't know!" She grasped her hair and huffed.

'_My shampoo is out there_...' She peeked out around the curtain, for some reason still excepting to see Sasuke. She gently tip-toed out and gathered her things, feeling the extra heat leave her body in steam, and quickly hopped back behind the curtain before it all left her. She dragged it back into place with the same "shree" noise. '_That's probably what happened! He just heard the shower curtain and thought I screamed_...'

She sighed, '_yeah Sakura, because he's never used this shower before_.' She scrubbed herself down, and began to consider her body, and her reactions. '_I wonder if he liked what he saw? Should I have invited him in_?' Then she roughly shook her head, "don't be stupid, Sakura..."

"Mm..," Sasuke sucked on his tongue but could taste no moisture. '_Water_...' He sat up and tossed the blanket aside, then gently eased his groggy body off the couch and unsteadily walked toward the kitchen.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

His head shot in the direction of the scream: the bathroom door that was recently closed, '_Sakura_!' He charged forward and the breeze from his speed felt good against his sweaty forehead, despite the circumstance.

As he approached the bathroom door, he could hear the steady drizzling of water on the other side. '_What if she fell and broke her head open_?' Sasuke swung open the door and wasted no time in ripping the shower curtain aside to see his collapsed friend.

"EEEEE! SASUKE?!" Sakura's arms swam confused around her body before she yanked the plastic screen from his grip and pulled it before her, "What are you DOING?!"

"Uh-I, uh..," he blinked at her gaping expression and could still picture her squirmy naked form despite her coverage. He brought his hand to the bridge of his nose and rubbed just beneath his eyebrows, "you, uh, just screamed, didn't you?"

"No, I did NOT SCREAM! You're the worst peeper EVER! GET OUUUUUUTTTT!" She swung out her arm and grabbed the shampoo, then flung it at him without a moments notice, "E-yah!" Sasuke blocked it with his hand, then looked back at her, "but-!" The onslaught of more bottles began, three more crashed into him, each matching up to an "OUT!" from Sakura.

"Fine! Fine!" Sasuke dropped the curtain and ducked out of the bathroom, hearing the clunk of another plastic bottle hitting the doorframe. "AND SHUT THE DOOR!" She hollered after him. "ALRIGHT!" He slammed the door back in place and sighed, '_tch_, _way to over-react_.' Fanning off the steam that stuck to his clothes, he made his way back to the livingroom- when some movement caught his eye through the glass door.

Sasuke looked to the dog curled up on the chair before him, and back through the glass, '_an intruder_?' He walked over and tried to see where they had went as far as he could lean, '_there's a space between the garage and the fence_.' An unnerving feeling began to settle in his chest as he looked out, especially when he saw a sway of what appeared to be black hair retreat behind the garage.

He found himself remembering Sakura's words to him in the park; how she had cried, and slid the door open. Drawing a breath and cautiously stepping outside, then stepping toward the end of the garage, a thought kept repeating in his head: '_I have to protect her_.'

Sasuke had to sidestep in order to fit through the small, empty space. He gasped when the shadow before him moved and escaped from the crevice, again with that flowing black hair. A mature feminine laugh sounded in front of the garage, and his heart caught in his chest at the familiar sound. "W-Wait!"

He guided his hands on the building and his back against the fence, as he inched through the remaining space. Dust and dirt flung up from his skidding feet, and settled on his skin and clothes before he finally crawled back into the light. He shaded his eyes, "who's there?!" They adjusted quickly and looked around, but didn't see a single soul.

'_That's odd_..,' he took a few steps toward the front of the house when he saw it: the slight opening to the garage. He narrowed his eyes at it, then looked back at the house. Everything appeared to be normal there, so he hooked his fingers on the bottom of the garage door. He took a few short breaths before hurling it up in one swift motion. It clacked against the track as it slid back into place.

"I know you're in there!" Sasuke squinted to see into the darkness. It appeared to be like any other average family garage, maybe a bit smaller. It was obvious that even fitting one car in here would be a stretch, particularly from all the junk piled around the room.

He took a step inside, and the high-pitched cry of the alarm resounded through the no longer silent air. Sasuke jumped and covered his ears, '_wait, that's not an alarm_...'

He felt his way into the dark space, and the sunlight seemed to follow right behind him when he would make sense of the shapes ahead. Tucked away in the far back corner was the culprit, squirming on the hidden changing table as it wailed.

Sasuke climbed over the dirty cardboard boxes and reached out to the baby, "shhhhh..." For a few seconds it only hic'd at the comfort of his hand, but it was temporary before it started crying out again.

"Ah..," he gripped the sides of the child and lifted it toward him, causing it to wail louder still. "Shhh, I've got you," Sasuke spoke gently to the infant as he tucked it into his arm, "I've got you." Luckily the child was already wearing a diaper, '_but who would leave a baby in a cluttered garage_?'

Sasuke carefully inched his way back over the boxes, and the cries softened to light moans. He took a final look around the garage, but it was clear that there was nothing else in here. '_What about that woman? Is this her baby_?' That didn't seem right... That woman, and her laugh, were too similar to his own mother for him to believe that.

'_How am I going to tell Sakura about this_?' His feet sifted through the front lawn as he walked to the house, "and what am I going to do with this baby?"

* * *

A/N: Got this one up pretty quick, eh? ;D It was surprisingly easy to write, maybe because it's pretty short compared to the last chapter haha.

So let me know what you think!


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